mam 


THE 

MAKERS 
OF 


W3ODBURN 
MORAN 


'  OF  THE 
UNIVERSITY 

OF 


THE 
MAKERS    OF   AMERICA 


BY 

JAMES  A.  WOODBURN 

INDIANA    UNIVERSITY 

AND 

THOMAS   F.  MORAN 

PURDUE    UNIVERSITY 
AUTHORS    OF    "THE    CITIZEN    AND    THE    REPUBLIC,' 

ELEMENTARY  AMERICAN  HISTORY  AND  GOVERNMEI 
AND  "INTRODUCTION  TO  AMERICAN  HISTORY" 


LONGMANS,    GREEN    AND    CO. 

NEW  YORK       CHICAGO       BOSTON       TORONTO 


COPYRIGHT,     1922 
OY    LONGMANS,     GREEN     AND    CO. 

First  Edition,  Jane,  1922; 

Reprinted,  August,  1922 

Reprinted,  September,  1923 

Reprinted,  May,  1924 

EDUCATION  LIBH§ 


MADE  IN  THE   UNITED  STATES 


EHC. 

W  ^ 

If  2  L4 
PREFACE 


THE  purpose  of  this  little  book  is  to  set  forth  in 
simple  form  the  story  of  some  of  the  most  important 
events  and  movements  in  our  later  history.  It  deals 
with  certain  "high  spots"  in  our  national  life.  It 
makes  no  pretense  of  being  a  connected  history  of  the 
period  which  it  covers. 

The  book  is  almost  entirely  biographical.  The  Com 
mittee  of  Eight  of  the  American  Historical  Association 
rendered  a  useful  service  to  the  teaching  of  history  in 
the  public  schools  by  recommending  that  the  history 
work  of  the  fourth  and  fifth  grades  should  be  largely 
biographical  in  character.  Biography  interests  young 
people.  It  makes  a  personal  and  dramatic  appeal 
which  is  impossible  in  any  other  form  of  presentation. 
And  after  all,  a  lively  interest  in  history  is  more  to 
be  desired  than  an  accumulation  of  facts. 

We  are  indebted  to  many  teachers  for  valuable 
suggestions  in  the  preparation  of  this  book,  but  most 
of  all  to  Miss  Ida  Williams,  teacher  of  the  fifth  grade 
in  the  public  schools  of  West  Lafayette,  Indiana. 

It  is  hoped  that  the  book  will  do  something  towards 
creating  an  interest  in  American  history  and  bringing 
about  a  sound  and  sane  patriotism  on  the  part  of  the 
younger  citizens  of  the  Republic. 

JAMES  A.  WOODBURN 
THOMAS  F.  MORAN 

iii 

M577€G9 


ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 

Thanks  are  due  for  the  use  of  pictures  to  the  following : 

Old  Colony  Trust  Co.  for  the  New  England  Village. 
U.  S.  Naval  Academy  for  Portrait  of  John  Paul  Jones. 
Wisconsin  State  Historical  Society  for  Daniel  Boone's  Cabin. 
Continental  Fire  Insurance  for  Clark's  Capture  of  Kaskaskia. 
Mr.  Frederick  A.  Meserve  for  Photograph  of  Lincoln. 
International  Harvester  Co.  for  Tractor. 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

INTRODUCTION  — "THE   SPIRIT  OF    '76" i 

I.  JAMES  OTIS,   "THE  FLAME  OF  FIRE"      8 

II.  PATRICK  HENRY,  THE  ORATOR   OF  THE  REVOLU 
TION  18 

III.  SAMUEL  ADAMS,  THE  ORGANIZER  OF  THE   REVO 

LUTION     33 

IV.  BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN,  THE   BALANCE  WHEEL  OF 

THE   REVOLUTION      45 

V.   GEORGE  WASHINGTON,  THE  PILLAR  OF  THE  RE 
PUBLIC      54 

VI.  A  GROUP  OF  REVOLUTIONARY  HEROES 88 

1.  NATHANAEL  GREENE,  THE  FIGHTING  QUAKER 

2.  DANIEL  MORGAN,  A  DIAMOND  IN  THE  ROUGH 

3.  FRANCIS  MARION,  "THE  SWAMP  Fox" 

4.  THOMAS  SUMTER,  "THE  SOUTH  CAROLINA  GAMECOCK" 

5.  NATHAN  HALE,  THE  BOY  PATRIOT. 

VII.  JOHN  PAUL  JONES,   "THE  FATHER  OF  THE  AMERI 
CAN  NAVY" 113 

VIII.   DANIEL  BOONE,  THE  KENTUCKY  PATHFINDER  .    .     118 

1.  HARRODSBURG 

2.  BOONESBORO 

3.  THE  WILDERNESS  ROAD 

IX.   GEORGE  ROGERS   CLARK,  THE   SAVIOR  OF  THE 

NORTHWEST      150 

X.   "LONG  LIVE  GEORGE  WASHINGTON,  PRESIDENT 

OF  THE   UNITED    STATES" 169 

1.  THE  INAUGURATION 

2.  THE  CAPITAL  CITY 

XI.  ELI  WHITNEY  AND  THE   COTTON  PLANTATION  .         181 


vi  CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

XII.   THOMAS  JEFFERSON,   "THE  MAN  OF  THE  PEOPLE"    189 

1.  THE  LOUISIANA  PURCHASE 

2.  LEWIS  AND  CLARK  AND  THE  FAR  WEST 

3.  ANDREW  JACKSON,  FRONTIER  STATESMAN 

XIII.  THE  HIGHWAY,  THE  WATERWAY,  AND   THE  RAIL 

WAY   2II 

1.  ROBERT  FULTON,  INVENTOR  OF  THE  STEAMBOAT 

2.  DEWITT  CLINTON  AND  THE  ERIE  CANAL 

3.  THE  FIRST  AMERICAN  RAILROAD 

4.  SAMUEL  F.  B.  MORSE  AND  THE  ELECTRIC  TELEGRAPH 

XIV.  THE   GOLDEN   SOUTHWEST 230 

1.  SAM  HOUSTON  OF  TEXAS 

2.  THE  MEXICAN  WAR 

3.  THREE  GREAT  FRONTIERSMEN: 

"DAVY"  CROCKETT,  JOHN  C.  FREMONT,  AND 
"KIT"  CARSON 

4.  SUTTER'S  MILL  AND  "THE  FORTY-NINERS" 

(a)  CAPTAIN  SUTTER 

(b)  JUNIPERO  SERRA,  SPANISH  MISSIONARY 

XV.   THREE   GREAT  AMERICAN   STATESMEN 249 

1.  DANIEL  WEBSTER 

2.  HENRY  CLAY 

3.  JOHN  C.  CALHOUN 

XVI.   "THE  BLUE  AND   THE   GRAY" 262 

1.  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN 

2.  JEFFERSON  DAVIS 

3.  ULYSSES  S.  GRANT 

4.  ROBERT  E.  LEE 

5.  WILLIAM  T.  SHERMAN 

6.  PHILIP  H.  SHERIDAN 

7.  THOMAS  JONATHAN  JACKSON 

8.  JAMES  E.  B.  STUART 

9.  THE  CLOSE  OF  THE  WAR 

XVII.   GREAT  AMERICAN  INDUSTRIES 297 

1.  AGRICULTURE,  MINING  AND  LUMBERING 

2.  MANUFACTURING  —  THE  STEEL  MILLS 

INDEX        305 


"RING.  RING  FOR  LIBERTY!" 


THE  MAKERS  OF  AMERICA 

INTRODUCTION 

"THE   SPIRIT   OF    '76" 

Slowly  the  mist  o'er  the  meadow  was  creeping, 
Bright  on  the  dewy  buds  glistened  the  sun, 

When  from  his  couch,  while  his  children  were  sleeping, 
Rose  the  bold  rebel  and  shouldered  his  gun. 

—  OLIVER  WENDELL  HOLMES 

IT  WOULD  be  extremely  interesting  if  you  and  I 
could  go  back  one  hundred  and  fifty  years  and  see 
our  nation  in  its  early  childhood.  We  could  then 
walk  about  the  streets  of  New  York  and  glance  into  the 
parlors  of  the  quaint  old  Dutch  homes.  And  what 
curious  costumes  we  would  see  in  the  churches  and  on 
the  streets! 

In  a  leisurely  stroll  about  the  streets  of  Boston 
we  might  possibly  meet  some  of  the  men  who  fought 
for  American  Independence  and  later  laid  the  firm 
foundations  of  our  nation.  We  might  visit  the  New 
England  "Meeting  House,"  where  they  used  to  hold 
the  long  Sunday  services. 

In  Philadelphia  we  might  see  the  old  Liberty  Bell 


THE  MAKERS  OF  AMERICA 


hanging  in  the  State  House,  and  ready  to  ring  out  the 
news  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence.  At  Charles 
ton  we  might  see  the  southern  planter  loading  his  bales 


A  NEW  ENGLAND  MEETING  HOUSE 

The  church,    or   Meeting   House,   was   the   center   of  the  old   New 
England  town. 

of  tobacco  on  a  long,  low,  sailing  vessel  about  to  depart 
for  Europe,  or  we  might  wander  about  the  broad 
southern  plantation  and  listen  to  the  negro  melodies. 
We  might  enter  a  small  log  cabin  in  a  clearing  in  the 
wilderness,  and  while  there  might  read  in  a  little  news 
paper,  by  the  light  of  the  open  fireplace,  an  account  of 
the  progress  of  Washington  and  his  army  in  their  fight 
for  Independence.  If  we  looked  about  us  we  would 
see  the  trusty  rifle  on  the  wall,  and  the  skins  of  fur- 
bearing  animals  scattered  on  the  floor.  The  spinning 
wheel,  the  candle  mold,  and  the  ox  yoke  would  all  be 
in  their  places.  Possibly  a  steaming  dinner  of  wild 


"THE  SPIRIT  OF  '76"  3 

turkey,  pudding,  and  other  pioneer  delicacies  would  be 
on  the  table.     All  this  would  be  new  and  wonderful. 


LOADING  A  SAILING  SHIP  FOR  EUROPE 

The  sights  and  sounds  of  the  early  morning  have  a 
peculiar  fascination,  and  so  also  have  those  scenes  of 
pioneer  life  which  go  to  make  up  the  early  dawn  of 
our  nation's  history. 

These  things  would  be  interesting,  but  it  would  be  still 
more  interesting  if  we  could  meet  and  talk  with  some 
of  the  great  men  who  founded  this  Republic.  How 


4  THE  MAKERS  OF  AMERICA 

should  you  like  to  accompany  George  Washington  on 
one  of  his  surveying  trips  through  the  western  wilder 
ness?  How  should  you  like  to  stand  by  the  road 
side  and  see  Paul  Revere  rush  by  in  the  moonlight  with 
his  horse's  hoofs  striking  sparks  from  the  pebbles  in 
the  streets?  How  should  you  like  to  sit  in  the  con 
vention  at  Richmond  and  hear  Patrick  Henry  thunder 
forth  his  famous  speech  in  which  he  said  "Give  me 
liberty  or  give  me  death?"  It  would  be  interesting, 
would  it  not,  to  hear  Thomas  Jefferson  read  from  the 
Declaration  of  Independence  or  Benjamin  Franklin 
from  his  "Poor  Richard's  Almanac?" 

While  we  cannot  ramble  through  the  highways  and 
byways  of  our  country  as  it  was  a  century  and  a 
half  ago  and  talk  with  the  Fathers  of  the  Republic, 
it  is  possible  for  us  to  do  the  next  best  thing.  We 
can  read  the  stories  of  the  lives  of  the  great  Ameri 
can  leaders.  The  life  stories  of  these  great  Americans 
constitute  the  History  of  the  United  States.  These 
men  are  the  Makers  of  America,  and  by  studying  their 
lives,  and  using  our  imaginations,  we  can  live  over 
again  the  more  than  four  hundred  years  which  have 
elapsed  since  Columbus  sailed  from  Spain. 

The  stories  in  this  little  book  begin  with  the  old 
Revolutionary  days.  You  have  already  studied  in 
previous  grades  the  story  of  the  Discovery  of  America. 
You  have  followed  Christopher  Columbus  and  John 
Cabot  on  their  memorable  voyages  across  the  "Sea 
of  Darkness."  You  went,  in  imagination,  with  Magellan 


"THE  SPIRIT  OF    '76"  5 

on  his  trip  around  the  globe.  You  were  with  John 
Smith  during  the  "starving  time,"  and  you  made  the 
acquaintance  of  Pocahontas  and  John  Rolfe  in  their 
Virginia  homes.  You  marched,  gun  in  hand,  behind 
Captain  Miles  Standish,  the  sturdy  Pilgrim  soldier. 
Possibly  in  your  dreams  you  have  seen  King  Philip 
and  his  dusky  warriors  peering  out  from  behind  the 
forest  trees. 

You  have  met  old  Peter  Stuyvesant  of  New  Am 
sterdam  stumping  around  on  his  wooden  leg,  and  you 
have  heard  William  Penn  telling  his  followers  that  the 
Indians  must  be  justly  treated.  You  followed  Wash 
ington  and  Braddock  into  the  dark  valley  of  the 
Monongahela  River,  and  there,  deep  in  the  primeval 
forest,  you  saw  that  terrible  massacre  at  the  hands  of 
the  French  and  Indians.  A  little  later  you  followed 
Wolfe  along  the  steep,  narrow,  and  winding  path 
leading  up  to  the  Plains  of  Abraham.  You  may  pos 
sibly  have  heard  him  recite  that  verse  from  Gray's 
"Elegy"  just  before  the  ascent: 

The  boast  of  heraldry,  the  pomp  of  power, 
And  all  that  beauty,  all  that  wealth  e'er  gave, 

Await  alike  th'  inevitable  hour: 
The  paths  of  glory  lead  but  to  the  grave. 

Be  that  as  it  may,  you  certainly  witnessed  the  fall 
of  Quebec  in  1759,  and  you  know  that  with  Quebec 
fell  the  power  of  France  in  North  America. 

You  have  read  of  the  joys  and  sorrows  of  the  English 


6  THE  MAKERS  OF  AMERICA 

colonists,  and  also  of  the  foes  which  they  were  com 
pelled  to  face.  First  of  all  the  Indians,  naturally 
enough,  resented  the  coming  of  the  white  men.  They 
did  not  like  to  see  the  " palefaces"  roaming  about  their 
hunting  grounds  and  fishing  in  their  streams.  There 
was  a  running  fight  of  many  years  before  the  white 
men  finally  became  the  masters  of  the  continent.  Then, 
too,  the  Dutch  in  New  Amsterdam  were  not  entirely 
friendly  but  they  also  were  overcome  by  the  English. 
Finally  the  French,  both  in  Europe  and  America,  were 
not  on  very  good  terms  with  the  English.  .  The  French 
and  English,  therefore,  fought  it  out  in  the  forests  of 
North  America,  and  the  English  were  victorious.  In 
the  course  of  time,  then,  the  English  colonists  had  met 
and  overcome  three  important  enemies. 

After  conquering  the  French  many  of  the  English 
colonists  felt  that  they  had  still  another  foe  to  face. 
There  was  a  growing  feeling  of  hostility  towards  Eng 
land,  the  Mother  Country.  Many  of  the  colonists 
came  to  feel  that  Great  Britain  was  governing  the  col 
onies  in  an  unjust  and  selfish  way.  They  felt  that  they 
were  being  taxed  illegally,  and  were  being  deprived  in 
other  ways  of  their  rights  as  Englishmen. 

Franklin  said  that  "  British  subjects,  by  removing  to 
America,  cultivating  a  wilderness,  extending  the  domain, 
and  increasing  the  wealth,  commerce,  and  power  of  the 
Mother  Country,  at  the  hazard  of  their  lives  and 
fortunes,  ought  not,  and  in  fact  do  not  thereby  lose 
their  native  rights."  As  a  result  of  this  feeling  the 


" THE  SPIRIT  OF    '76"  7 

American  colonists  declared  their  independence  of  the 
Mother  Country,  and  set  up  a  new  nation  on  the 
Atlantic  Coast.  We  are  now  to  be  introduced  to  some 
of  the  principal  actors  in  this  great  American  drama. 

PRONOUNCING  LIST 

Monongahela     Mo-non-ge-he'la 
primeval    pri-me'val 


CHAPTER  I 

JAMES   OTIS,    "THE  FLAME   OF  FIRE" 

Let  independence  be  our  boast, 
Ever  mindful  what  it  cost; 
Ever  grateful  for  the  prize, 
Let  its  altar  reach  the  skies! 

—JOSEPH  HOPKINSON 

THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION  is  one  of  the  most 
important  and  inspiring  events  in  the  whole  history 
of  mankind.  It  gave  independence  to  the  English 
colonies  in  North  America;  it  gave  hope  to  oppressed 
people  everywhere;  and  it  was  a  blessing  to  the  English 
people  and  the  English  Government. 

It  was,  of  course,  more  important  to  the  American 
people  than  to  any  one  else.  It  gave  us  the  right  to 
govern  ourselves.  This  means  that  after  the  Revolu 
tion  our  forefathers  managed  their  own  affairs  in  their 
own  way.  They  levied  their  taxes  and  spent  their  pub 
lic  money  as  they  saw  fit.  They  made  their  own  laws 
and  there  was  no  king  to  tell  them  what  they  must 
do.  They  were  free  men. 

The  American  Republic,  in  which  "We,  the  people," 
govern  ourselves,  has  been  copied  in  all  quarters  of 


JAMES  OTIS  9 

the  globe.     It  has  served  as  a  splendid  example  of  free 

government,  and  many  have  profited  by  it.     If  a  man 

is  capable  of  governing  himself 

it  is  much  better  for  him  to  do 

so,  than  to  be  ruled  by  a  king. 

It  makes  a  much  better  man  out 

of  him. 

Now,  if  it  is  true  that  the 
American  Revolution  is  really 
such  an  important  event  in  his 
tory,  all  American  citizens  ought 
to  know  something  about  it. 
They  ought  to  know  what 
caused  it.  They  ought  to  know 
what  the  Revolutionary  Fathers 
were  fighting  for;  and  they 
ought  to  be  familiar  with  the 
life  stories  of  such  men  as  George 
Washington,  Patrick  Henry, 
Samuel  Adams,  Benjamin 
Franklin,  Thomas  Jefferson,  and 
the  others  who  helped  to  win 
our  Independence. 


JAMES  OTIS 

James  Otis  spoke  out 
against  the  policy  of  King 
George  the  Third  long  be 
fore  most  men  did.  He 
denounced  the  kind  of 
search  warrant  which  was 
being  used. 


You  will  remember  that 
John  Smith's  "lazy  gentlemen" 
founded  the  Jamestown  Colony,  in  Virginia,  in  1607; 
and  that  the  sturdy  Pilgrim  Fathers  came  to  Plymouth, 
Massachusetts,  a  short  time  after.  One  by  one  other 


10 


THE  MAKERS  OF  AMERICA 


English  colonies  were  established,  until  thirteen  of  them 
were  scattered  along  the  ocean  coast  from  Massachusetts 
to  Georgia.  At  first  there  was  no  connection  existing 
among  these  colonies.  Each  one  was  separate  and  dis 
tinct  from  its  neighbors,  but  all  were  under  the  control  of 
England. 

As  long  as  these  colonies  were  small  and  poor  the 
Mother  Country  paid 
little  attention  to 
them;  but  as  soon  as 
they  grew  strong  and 
wealthy  they  began 
to  attract  some 
notice.  Then  it  was 
that  England  began 
to  regulate  the  trade 
of  the  colonies  for  her 
own  benefit,  and  to 
levy  taxes  on  them 


GEORGE  THE  THIRD 

This  is  a  picture  of  the  headstrong 
king  of  England  against  whom  the 
Revolutionary  Fathers  fought. 


to  help  pay  the  ex 
penses  of  her  govern 
ment. 

Now,     you     know 

that  a  small  boy  does  not  usually  object  when  his 
parents  or  his  teachers  tell  him  what  he  should  do,  but 
when  he  grows  up  he  wishes  to  have  something  to  say 
about  his  own  affairs.  If  he  earns  his  own  money,  he 
wishes  to  spend  at  least  a  part  of  it  as  he  thinks  best. 
He  does  not  wish  to  be  " bossed  around"  all  of  the  time. 


JAMES  OTIS 


ii 


It  was  the  same  way  with  the  colonies  when  they  grew 
up.  Their  leaders  insisted  that  the  colonists  were 
Englishmen  who  had  gone  away  from  home,  and  that 
they  were  still  entitled  to  all  the  rights  and  privileges 
of  the  Englishmen  who  had  remained  in  England. 


STAMP  COLLECTOR  CHASED  BY  A  MOB 

When  the  British  agents  tried  to  collect  money  for  stamps  they 
got  into  trouble.  Andrew  Oliver  is  seen  fleeing  to  escape  the  sticks 
and  stones  of  the  crowd. 


There  was  one  right  which  the  Englishman  had 
always  insisted  upon  and  that  was  the  right  to  levy 
his  own  taxes  or  have  them  levied  by  men  chosen  to 
represent  him.  In  the  case  of  the  colonists  the  taxes 
were  being  levied,  not  by  themselves,  but  by  men  three 


12  THE  MAKERS  OF  AMERICA 

thousand  miles  away.  To  this  there  was  a  very  vigor 
ous  objection,  and  this  objection  finally  led  to  war. 

In  an  old  English  novel  there  is  a  story  of  a  peculiar 
piece  of  warfare.  A  Duke's  army  is  laying  siege  to  a 
town  which  is  in  a  state  of  revolt,  and  finally  captures 
a  tall,  odd  looking  man,  dressed  in  knight's  armor —  the 
leader  of  the  rebellion.  The  tall  "knight"  was  really  not 
a  knight  at  all,  but  a  tradesman  with  a  quick  wit  and 
a  stammering  tongue.  While  the  knight  and  his  cap 
tor  were  talking  matters  over,  it  occurred  to  the  latter 
that  he  would  like  to  know  just  why  the  town  revolted. 
So  he  turned  to  the  captured  soldier  and  said,  "But  what 
is  your  grievance,  my  good  friend?"  To  this  the  knight 
replied,  "Toota,  toota,  toota,  toota,  —  too  much  taxes." 

"Too  much  taxes"  have  been  the  cause  of  a  great 
many  wars  and  revolutions,  but  our  forefathers  of  the 
American  Revolution  objected,  not  so  much  to  "too 
much  taxes"  as  to  any  tax  at  all  which  was  levied  by 
outsiders. 

In  this  struggle  against  the  Mother  Country,  the 
colonists  had  able  and  fearless  leaders.  James  Otis,  a 
young  lawyer  of  Massachusetts,  was  one  of  the  fore 
most  of  these.  Otis  was  born  in  Barnstable,  Massa 
chusetts,  on  February  5,  1725.  He  was  descended  from 
a  good  old  English  family  which  had  come  to  that 
state  from  the  southwestern  part  of  England  only 
fifteen  years  after  the  Pilgrim  Fathers  had  landed  at 
Plymouth.  The  young  James  was,  apparently,  a  bright 


JAMES  OTIS  13 

lad,  and  was  graduated  from  Harvard  College  at  the 
age  of  eighteen.  Later  he  studied  law  and  began  the 
practice  of  his  profession  at  Plymouth.  After  a  few 
years  he  went  to  Boston  and  there  became  interested 
in  the  cause  of  the  colonists. 

While  practicing  law  he  apparently  kept  up  his  college 
studies,  as  he  wrote  a  Latin  textbook  which  was  used 


HARVARD  UNIVERSITY  IN  ITS  EARLY  DAYS 
Otis  was  graduated  from  Harvard. 

for  a  time  in  Harvard  College.  He  also  wrote  a  Greek 
textbook,  but  it  was  never  published  because  the  print 
ing  shops  of  the  New  World  did  not  have  Greek  letters, 
and  besides  there  was  no  printer  who  could  have  set 
up  the  type. 

While  Otis  was  a  lawyer  in  Boston,  England  said  that 
goods  could  not  be  brought  into  American  ports  with 
out  the  payment  of  a  duty,  or  tax,  to  the  King's 
officers.  The  colonists  thought  this  law  unfair,  and 


14  THE  MAKERS  OF  AMERICA 

proceeded  to  smuggle  the  goods  into  the  country  with 
out  paying  anything.  This  practice  continued  for 
years.  Finally,  the  English  officers  began  to  enforce  the 
law,  and  proceeded  to  search,  without  a  legal  warrant, 
the  houses  and  other  buildings  in  which  they  suspected 
the  smuggled  goods  had  been  stored.  The  officers  were 

sometimes  impudent 
and  spiteful,  and  the 
whole  matter  was  very 
annoying.  The  people 
protested  that  the 
search  was  not  lawful, 
and  James  Otis  took 
the  lead  in  the  opposi 
tion.  He  resigned  his 
office  as  Attorney  for 
the  King,  and  pleaded 
the  case  of  the  people 


OLD  STATE  HOUSE,  BOSTON 

Here  James   Otis   made   some   of   his 
famous  speeches. 


free  of  charge.  In  do 
ing  this  he  showed 
himself  to  be  a  true 
Some  people  blamed 
They  said  that  he 


patriot  and  a  man  of  high  ideals, 
him  for  his  course  of  action, 
had  deserted  the  cause  of  his  King,  and  they  threat 
ened  him  in  all  sorts  of  ways.  Otis,  however,  was  "as 
immovable  as  the  eternal  hills."  "Let  the  consequences 
be  what  they  will,"  he  said,  "I  am  determined  to  pro 
ceed.  The  only  principles  of  public  conduct  that  are 
worthy  of  a  gentleman  or  a  man,  are  to  sacrifice  estate, 


JAMES  OTIS  15 

ease,  wealth,  and  applause,  and  even  life,  to  the  sacred 
calls  of  his  country." 

He  then  proceeded  to  attack  the  methods  of  the 
British  officers  without  mercy.  "I  will  to  my  dying 
day/'  he  exclaimed,  "  oppose  with  all  the  powers  and 
faculties  God  has  given  me,  all  such  instruments  of 
slavery  on  the  one  hand,  and  villainy  on  the  other." 
"A  man's  house  is  his  castle,"  he  continued,  "and  Eng 
lish  liberty  forbids  that  it  should  be  entered  except  in 
a  lawful  way." 

He  was  as  bold  as  he  was  eloquent,  and  he  must  have 
known  that  he  was  risking  his  own  life  when  he  flew 
into  the  face  of  the  King,  and  condemned  "a  kind  of 
power,  the  exercise  of  which  in  former  periods  of  history 
cost  one  king  his  head,  and  another  his  throne." 

For  five  hours  Otis  thundered  on  in  that  old  Massa 
chusetts  court  against  the  tyranny  of  the  king  and  in 
favor  of  the  rights  of  the  people.  He  made  a  wonder 
ful  impression.  John  Adams  was  there  as  a  young  man 
of  twenty-four,  and  he  likened  Otis  to  "a  flame  of 
fire."  "Then  and  there,"  said  Adams,  " American 
Independence  was  born."  And  all  of  this  took  place 
fourteen  years  before  the  War  for  Independence  began. 

With  his  gifted  pen  and  his  trumpet  voice  Otis  con 
tinued  to  assail  the  foes  of  American  liberty.  He  made 
enemies  for  himself,  of  course,  and  many  of  them. 
Some  of  these  detested  him  bitterly  and  sought  ways 
of  doing  him  harm.  Finally,  eight  years  after  he  made 
his  great  speech  in  the  Massachusetts  court,  he  pub- 


i6 


THE  MAKERS  OF  AMERICA 


lished  an  article  in  one  of  the  Boston  newspapers  which 
greatly  angered  the  British  officers.  Soon  after  this  a 
dozen  men  pounced  upon  him  in  the  darkened  room 
of  a  public  coffee-house  and  beat  him  unmercifully.  One 


JAMES  OTIS  BEFORE  THE  JUDGES 

It  was  here  that  Otis  made  one  of  his  most  famous  speeches. 
Notice^that  the  judges  are  wearing  wigs  and  gowns.  Our  Supreme 
Court  judges  now  wear  gowns  but  not  wigs. 

of  them  struck  him  on  the  head  with  a  heavy  cane 
(some  say  with  a  sword),  and  he  never  recovered  from 
the  blow,  although  he  lived  on  for  fourteen  years.  His 
health  was  broken  and  he  suffered  from  "  frequent 
attacks  of  insanity."  He  brought  suit  for  damages 
against  one  of  his  assailants  and  obtained  a  judgment 
for  five  thousand  dollars,  which  he  promptly  returned 
when  the  man  handed  him  a  written  apology. 

Otis  tried  to  enter  public  life  again  and  attempted 


JAMES  OTIS  17 

to  practice  law,  but  he  was  not  able  to  do  either.  He 
was  shattered  mentally  and  physically  and  lingered  on, 
for  the  most  part,  in  a  state  of  hopeless  insanity.  He 
did  recover  sufficiently  to  take  part  in  the  Battle  of 
Bunker  Hill  in  1775,  and  to  try  a  single  law  case  three 
years  later. 

It  is  said  that  during  this  period  he  often  expressed 
the  wish  that  his  life  might  be  ended  by  a  stroke  of 
lightning.  His  wish  was  granted.  While  standing  near 
the  open  door  of  his  home  at  Andover,  Massachusetts, 
he  was  instantly  killed  by  a  bolt  from  the  sky.  He 
had  lived  long  enough,  however,  to  see  his  country  a 
free  and  independent  nation.  His  death  took  place  in 
1783,  —  the  year  in  which  Great  Britain  acknowledged 
by  treaty  the  Independence  of  the  United  States. 

The  career  of  James  Otis  was  not  a  long  one,  but  it 
was  extremely  important.  He  deserved  well  of  his 
native  land. 

HINTS   AND   QUESTIONS 

1.  Why  is  the  American  Revolution  important? 

2.  What   was    the    most    important    cause    of    the    American 

Revolution? 

3.  How  had  the  Englishman  always  insisted  that  his  taxes  be 

levied? 

4.  Why  was  James  Otis  called  a  "  flame  of  fire?  " 

5.  Did  James  Otis  object  to  the  searching  of  houses  or  to  the 

way  in  which  it  was  done? 


CHAPTER  II 


PATRICK  HENRY,    "  THE     ORATOR   OF  THE 
REVOLUTION  " 

Breathes  there  the  man  with  soul  so  dead 
Who  never  to  himself  hath  said, 
This  is  my  own,  my  native  land! 

-  SIR  WALTER  SCOTT 

THE  WORK  of  James  Otis  was  continued  by  Patrick 
Henry.     You  probably  know  that  Massachusetts  and 

Virginia  were  the  two  most 
important  leaders  in  the 
American  Revolution.  Pat 
rick  Henry  was  born  in 
Virginia  in  1736  -  -  four 
years  after  the  founding  of 
the  Georgia  Colony.  He 
was  eleven  years  younger 
than  Otis,  and  four  years 
younger  than  Washington. 
He  was  very  well  acquainted 
with  Washington,  Jefferson, 
and  the  other  great  men  of 
his  time. 

Henry's    father  was    a  well    educated    Scotchman  of 
good,  hard,  common  sense,    and    his    mother  was    de- 

18 


PATRICK  HENRY 


PATRICK  HENRY  19 

scended  from  a  brilliant  Welsh  family.  Indeed,  one 
of  her  brothers,  William  Winston,  is  said  to  have  been 
one  of  the  most  powerful  orators  of  his  day,  being 
surpassed  in  Virginia  only  by  Patrick  Henry  himself. 

The  young  Henry  was  a  bright  lad  of  good  family, 
and  it  might  seem  that  his  way  to  a  brilliant  success 
in  life  would  be  easy.  It  takes  more,  however,  to  make 
a  successful  career  than  a  brilliant  mind  and  a  good 
family.  It  takes  hard  work  and  a  great  deal  of  it. 
Right  here  was  Henry's  weak  point.  He  didn't  care 
for  hard  work.  He  didn't  care  for  school  or  books. 
He  preferred  to  sit  on  the  bank  of  a  stream  and  fish 
or  to  roam  through  the  woods  with  a  shotgun  on  his 
shoulder  in  search  of  wild  game.  He  would  much 
rather  talk  with  a  trapper  or  a  backwoodsman  than 
with  a  school  teacher.  The  simple  fact  is  that  Patrick 
Henry  as  a  boy  was  rather  dreamy  and  somewhat 
inclined  to  be  indolent. 

For  a  few  years  the  young  Henry  attended  a  small 
school  near  his  home  and  studied  reading,  writing,  and 
arithmetic.  He  was  not  making  much  progress  in  his 
studies,  however,  and  his  father  took  him  out  of  school 
and  taught  him  at  home.  In  this  task  the  father  was 
assisted  by  his  brother,  who  was  pastor  of  one  of  the 
churches  of  the  home  town.  With  his  father  and  his 
uncle  working  over  him  the  boy  had  no  possible  chance 
of  escape,  and  he  did  learn  some  Latin  and  Greek,  and 
a  good  deal  of  Mathematics. 

His  minister  uncle  also  gave  him  some  valuable  in- 


20  THE  MAKERS  OF  AMERICA 

struction  in  morals  and  religion.  According  to  his  own 
account  he  was  taught  the  following  excellent  rules  of 
conduct :  '  To  be  true  and  just  in  all  my  dealings.  To 
bear  no  malice  or  hatred  in  my  heart.  To  keep  my 
hands  from  picking  and  stealing.  Not  to  covet  other 
men's  goods;  but  to  learn  and  labor  truly,  to  get  my 
own  living,  and  to  do  my  duty  in  that  state  of  life 
into  which  it  has  pleased  God  to  call  me." 

The  boy  had  good  instruction  at  home,  but  it  did 
not  last  very  long.  At  the  age  of  fifteen  he  put  aside 
his  books  and  went  into  business.  He  served  an  ap 
prenticeship  for  a  year,  and  then  went  into  partnership 
with  his  brother  William  in  a  small  country  store. 
Their  father  furnished  the  money  for  it,  and  the  boys 
were  to  carry  on  the  business;  but  since  Patrick  had 
very  little  business  ability,  and  brother  William  had 
even  less,  the  store  failed  within  a  few  months. 

Patrick  was  now  waiting  for  something  to  turn  up. 
He  waited  in  vain  for  about  a  year,  and  at  the  end 
of  that  time,  when  he  was  eighteen  years  of  age,  with 
no  money  in  his  pocket  and  nothing  to  do,  he  got 
married.  His  wife  was  Miss  Sarah  Shelton,  and  her 
capital  was  about  equal  to  that  of  her  husband.  Her 
father  was  an  inn-keeper,  and  the  young  bridegroom 
tried  his  hand  for  a  time  in  helping  "  to  keep  a  hotel." 

The  parents  on  both  sides  saw  that  something  had 
to  be  done,  and  so  came  to  the  rescue.  They  procured 
a  small  farm  in  the  neighborhood  and  a  few  slaves, 
and  set  the  young  couple  up  in  house-keeping.  Patrick 


PATRICK  HENRY  21 

and  his  bride  were  very  happy  but  they  were  also  very 
poor  farmers,  and  at  the  end  of  two  years  this  venture 
failed  also. 

Henry,  now  a  boy  of  twenty,  tried  his  luck  once 
more.  With  the  money  which  he  received  from  the 
sale  of  his  slaves  he  bought  another  country  store.  The 
result  was  what  might  have  been  expected.  He  failed 
again.  Henry  was  now  twenty- three  years  of  age  with 
a  wife  and  several  small  children  dependent  upon  him. 

In  spite  of  his  rather  unhappy  position,  however,  he 
was  in  splendid  health  and  fine  spirits.  Thomas  Jeffer 
son  met  him  at  a  social  gathering  about  this  time  and 
said  that  Henry  seemed  to  have  a  passion  for  music, 
dancing,  and  pleasantry.  The  young  man  had  a  fine 
mind,  robust  strength,  and  good  moral  principles,  and 
would  do  well  what  he  was  fitted  for.  He  had  no  taste 
for  farming,  hotel  keeping,  or  running  country  stores, 
but  there  was  a  great  and  important  work  for  him  to 
do  as  soon  as  he  found  himself. 

Sometime  while  he  was  keeping  store,  or  farming,  or 
helping  about  the  hotel  he  acquired  a  taste  for  good 
reading.  He  read  the  history  of  the  Ancients,  of  the 
English,  and  of  the  colonists  in  Virginia.  He  was  also 
a  religious  man  and  read  the  Bible  regularly.  In  this 
way  he  improved  his  use  of  the  English  language,  and 
thus  prepared  himself  for  the  great  work  which  he  was 
destined  to  do. 

Finally,  after  knocking  around  a  good  deal,  he  made 
up  his  mind  to  become  a  lawyer.  After  studying  law  for 


22  THE  MAKERS  OF  AMERICA 

a  month  or  six  weeks  he  presented  himself  for  the  ex 
amination  and  was  admitted  to  practice.  He  was  then 
only  twenty-four  years  of  age  and,  poorly  prepared  as 
he  was,  it  looked  as  though  he  were  doomed  to  another 
failure.  He  didn't  fail,  however,  for  he  had  now  found 
a  kind  of  work  in  which  he  was  interested. 

Three  years  after  beginning  his  practice,  he  was  em 
ployed  in  a  very  important  suit  known  as  "  The  Par 
sons'  Cause."  During  the  trial  of  this  case  he  discovered 
his  wonderful  oratorical  powers,  and  became  famous 
almost  in  a  single  day.  He  won  the  case  and  his  elo 
quence  was  talked  about  all  over  the  county.  At  last 
he  had  shown  the  real  stuff  that  was  in  him.  He  be 
came  a  popular  lawyer  and  public  speaker.  Clients 
rushed  to  him,  and  he  was  now  on  the  high  road  to 
success. 

Just  about  this  time  England  passed  the  famous 
Stamp  Act,  which  required  the  colonists  in  America 
to  purchase  stamps  and  place  them  on  newspapers, 
pamphlets,  and  legal  papers  of  various  kinds.  The 
English  Government  wished  to  raise  money  in  this  way. 
The  colonists  objected  to  the  tax.  At  this  critical 
moment  Patrick  Henry  appeared  in  the  House  of  Bur 
gesses  of  Virginia  (the  legislature  of  the  colony)  and 
boldly  declared  that  the  Virginia  Legislature  had  the 
sole  right  to  lay  taxes  upon  the  inhabitants  of  the 
Colony,  and  that  any  one  who  thought  differently  was 
an  enemy  of  the  people.  He  introduced  a  set  of  resolu 
tions  to  this  effect,  and  there  followed  a  debate  which 


PATRICK  HENRY  23 

Jefferson  called  "  most  bloody."  In  the  course  of  this 
debate  Henry  held  that  the  English  Government  should 
not  be  permitted  to  tax  the  colonists.  His  bold  de 
fiance  of  the  Mother  Country  startled  and  shocked 
many  of  the  older  members  of  the  assembly. 


PATRICK  HENRY  ADDRESSING  THE  VIRGINIA  ASSEMBLY 
"If  this  be  treason,  make  the  most  of  it." 

It  was  in  the  course  of  this  debate  that  one  of  the 
most  dramatic  scenes  in  American  History  took  place. 
Coming  to  a  climax  in  his  fiery  speech,  Henry  blazed 
forth  his  memorable  warning  to  George  the  Third,  the 
King  of  England.  "Caesar  had  his  Brutus/'  he  said; 
" Charles  the  First  his  Cromwell;  and  George  the 
Third"  — (shouts  of  " treason,"  "treason,"  came  from 


24  THE  MAKERS  OF  AMERICA 

all  parts  of  the  house.  Henry  paused  for  a  moment  in 
an  attitude  of  defiance  until  the  cries  ceased.  And  then, 
rearing  himself  with  a  look  and  a  bearing  of  still 
prouder  and  fiercer  determination,  .  .  .  without  in  the 
least  flinching  from  his  position,  he  finished  the  sen 
tence) —  "and  George  the  Third  may  profit  by  their 
example.  If  this  be  treason,  make  the  most  of  it!" 
This  was  in  1765. 

The  resolutions  were  then  passed  by  the  house  and 
Henry,  thinking  that  his  task  had  been  accomplished, 
set  out  joyously  for  home.  He  must  have  presented 
a  picturesque  figure  as  he  started  upon  his  journey.  He 
was  described  as  "wearing  buckskin  breeches,  his 
saddle-bags  on  his  arm,  leading  a  lean  horse,  and 
chatting  with  a  companion  who  walked  by  his  side." 

On  the  following  morning,  with  Henry  out  of  the 
way,  the  House  became  frightened  and  hastily  erased 
from  its  records  a  part  of  the  resolutions.  It  was  too 
late,  however.  The  bold  words  of  Henry  had  already 
gone  out  of  the  legislative  hall  and,  "  borne  on  the  wings 
of  the  wind,"  were  well  on  their  way  to  every  nook  and 
corner  of  the  colonies.  They  did  their  work  well  and 
were  an  important  factor  in  uniting  the  colonists 
against  the  Mother  Country. 

For  nine  years  after  this  memorable  scene  Henry 
worked  hard  at  his  law  practice,  and  developed  the 
power  of  his  great  genius.  He  had  become  a  great 
lawyer  and  a  greater  public  speaker. 

It  will  be  remembered  that  there  was  no  bond  of 


PATRICK  HENRY 


25 


union  among  the  colonies.  Without  such  a  bond  they 
could  not  act  in  common  against  the  oppression  of  the 
Mother  Country;  and  since  this  oppression  increased 
rather  than  diminished,  it  seemed  necessary  to  have  a 
meeting  of  the  leading  men  from  all  the  colonies  to 
talk  things  over.  The  result  was  the  First  Continental 
Congress  which  met 
in  Philadelphia  in  the 
fall  of  1774. 

Patrick  Henry, 
naturally  enough,  was 
one  of  the  men  chosen 
to  represent  Virginia 
in  this  Congress. 
Several  days  before 
the  time  appointed 

for   the  meeting,   he 

CARPENTER'S  HALL,  PHILADELPHIA 
set  out  on  horseback    ™      n     .      ^  .    „ 

Ine    Continental    Congress    met   in    this 
tor  Philadelphia.     He     building.    We  saw  Washington,  Henry  and 

°n  thdr  way  to  attend  the 


stopped  off  at  Mount 
Vernon  for  a  day  and 
a  night,  for  a  visit  with  his  friend  George  Washington, 
who  lived  in  a  beautiful  old  mansion  on  the  Potomac 
River.  We  may  be  sure  that  during  this  visit  the  two 
great  men  talked  over  the  wrongs  of  the  colonies  and 
the  plans  for  the  Philadelphia  Congress.  On  the  following 
day  Henry  and  Washington,  accompanied  by  Edmund 
Pendleton,  another  distinguished  Virginian,  set  out  on 
horseback  for  Philadelphia.  The  three  great  men  jogged 


26  THE  MAKERS  OF  AMERICA 

into  the  city  on  the  morning  of  September  5th,  just  in 
time  to  attend  the  opening  of  the  great  Congress. 

Henry,  as  might  be  expected,  took  an  important  part 
in  the  work  of  this  Congress.  He  apparently  had  come 
to  the  conclusion  that  there  would  be  a  war  between 
England  and  the  colonies.  He  did  not  see  how  it 
could  be  avoided.  John  Adams  tells  us  that  near  the 
close  of  the  Congress  he  was  talking  this  matter  over 
with  Henry.  Neither  man  was  hopeful  of  a  peaceful 
settlement.  Adams  expressed  the  opinion  that  the 
resolutions  and  petitions  which  they  were  sending  to 
England  would  find  their  way  into  the  King's  waste 
paper  basket,  and  thus  amount  to  nothing.  Adams 
said  that,  as  they  were  talking,  Henry  raised  his  head 
and  exclaimed  with  emphasis,  "  After  all,  we  must 
fight." 

This  famous  Congress  lasted  for  seven  weeks,  and 
then  Henry  went  back  home,  but  was  still  interested 
in  public  affairs. 

The  Revolution  was  approaching  rapidly  and  interest 
was  intense.  Meetings  were  being  held  everywhere 
from  Massachusetts  to  Georgia.  One  of  these  meetings 
was  held  in  a  church  in  Richmond,  Virginia.  Here 
Patrick  Henry  made  a  great  and  memorable  speech. 
The  main  purpose  of  the  meeting  was  to  make  arrange 
ments  for  the  raising  of  an  army  to  fight  the  Mother 
Country,  in  case  they  were  compelled  to  do  so.  Henry 
again  presented  a  bold  set  of  resolutions  looking  to  the 


PATRICK  HENRY  27 

defense  of  the  colonies  and  made  the  speech  of  his 
life  in  their  support.  It  was  a  notable  address  in  many 
ways,  but  particularly  in  one.  Up  to  this  time  many 
men  had  spoken  of  the  possibility  of  a  war  with  England 
but  all  had  expressed  a  hope  that  such  a  war  might  be 
avoided.  Henry  now  came  out  boldly  and  said  that  it 
was  impossible  to  avoid  such  a  war.  :'The  war  is  com 
ing;  it  has  come  already,"  he  exclaimed,  while  many 
timid  souls  shivered  at  his  bold  utterance.  He  looked 
upon  "all  further  talk  of  peace  as  mere  prattle." 
"This  is  no  time  for  ceremony,"  he  said;  "it  is  a  ques 
tion  of  slavery  and  freedom."  He  accused  England 
of  making  plans  to  subdue  the  colonies.  What  about 
"those  warlike  preparations  which  cover  our  waters  and 
darken  our  lands?  What  do  they  mean?  They  are 
meant  for  us;  they  can  be  meant  for  no  other.  In 
vain,  after  these  things,  may  we  indulge  the  fond  hope 
of  peace  and  reconciliation.  There  is  no  longer  any 
room  for  hope  ...  If  we  wish  to  be  free  ...  we  must 
fight!  I  repeat  it,  sir  ...  we  must  fight!  An  appeal 
to  arms,  and  to  the  God  of  hosts,  is  all  that  is  left  us." 

He  was  opposed  to  delay.  "They  tell  us,  sir,  that 
we  are  weak,"  he  continued,  —  "unable  to  cope  with 
so  formidable  an  adversary.  But  when  shall  we  be 
stronger?  Will  it  be  next  week,  or  next  year?  Will  it 
be  when  we  are  totally  disarmed,  and  when  a  British 
guard  shall  be  stationed  in  every  house?" 

Henry  also  thought  that  outside  nations  would  help 
the  colonists.  "Besides,  sir,"  he  continued,  "we  shall 


28 


THE  MAKERS  OF  AMERICA 


not  fight  our  battles  alone.  There  is  a  just  God  who 
presides  over  the  destinies  of  nations,  and  who  will 
raise  up  friends  to  fight  our  battles  for  us."  He  was 
right  in  one  respect.  France  did  aid  us  with  men  and 
money  during  the  Revolution. 

When  one  enters 
the  old  church  in 
Richmond,  as  many 
travelers  do,  and 
stands  with  un 
covered  head,  he  can 
almost  hear  the  ring 
ing  words  of  the  con 
clusion  of  this  great 
speech. 

Gentlemen  may  cry 
peace,  peace,  but  there 
is  no  peace.  The  war  is 
actually  begun.  The 
next  gale  that  sweeps 
from  the  north  will  bring 
to  our  ears  the  clash 
of  resounding  arms.  Our 
brethren  are  already  in 
the  field.  Why  stand 
we  here  idle?  What  is 
it  that  gentlemen  wish?  What  would  they  have?  Is  life  so  dear, 
or  peace  so  sweet,  as  to  be  purchased  at  the  price  of  chains  and 
slavery?  Forbid  it,  Almighty  God!  I  know  not  what  course 
others  may  take,  but  as  for  me,  give  me  liberty,  or  give  me 
death! 


PATRICK  HENRY 

"But  as  for  me,  give  me  liberty  or 
give  me  death." 


PATRICK  HENRY  29 

Henry's  resolutions  were  carried  and  he  was  now  in 
great  demand  everywhere.  For  a  short  time  he  was  in 
the  military  service.  He  was  also  the  first  Governor 
of  Virginia.  His  services  and  advice  were  sought  on 
every  hand. 

There  was  also  another  solemn  duty  to  which  he  was 
called.  In  the  midst  of  these  trying  times  his  wife, 
Sarah,  had  died  and  left  six  small  children  to  the  care 
of  her  husband.  Henry  found  great  comfort  in  caring 
for  the  motherless  little  brood,  —  as  well  as  a  father 
could. 

Henry's  condition  at  this  time  was  rather  pitiable. 
He  was  an  old  and  broken  man  at  fifty.  The  strain 
of  the  Revolutionary  days  had  left  its  mark.  He  was 
also  poor  and  even  in  debt.  He  had  neglected  his  law 
practice  and  his  private  business  for  the  public  welfare. 
His  spirit  was  not  broken,  however,  and  he  took  up  his 
law  work  again  in  order  to  win  back  his  private  fortune. 
He  worked  harder  than  ever  before.  He  studied  hard 
on  his  law  cases.  In  one  instance  he  sent  his  grandson 
on  horseback  a  distance  of  sixty  miles  in  order  to  get 
a  law  book  which  he  needed  in  one  of  his  cases. 

It  is  pleasing  to  note  that  he  was  successful  in  this 
undertaking,  and  a  few  years  later  he  was  able  to  re 
tire  from  his  labors  and  live  in  ease  and  comfort  for 
the  rest  of  his  life. 

He  spent  his  last  days  on  a  beautiful  estate,  called 
Red  Hill,  overlooking  the  Staunton  River.  He  loved 
the  surroundings  of  this  secluded  spot.  Here  he  lies 


30  THE  MAKERS  OF  AMERICA 

buried,  and  the  farm  is  still  owned  by  members  of 
his  family. 

Henry's  life  at  Red  Hill,  in  the  midst  of  his  family 
and  friends,  was  truly  delightful.  He  was  careful  about 
his  health  and  used  no  wines  or  liquors  at  all.  In 
fact  he  was  so  shocked  by  the  great  amount  of  drunken 
ness  in  America 
after  the  Revolu 
tionary  War  that  he 
did  every  thing  in  his 
power  to  check  it. 
He  tried  to  find  some 
harmless  substitute 
for  strong  liquor. 
He  employed  a 
Scotch  brewer  to 
PATRICK  HENRY'S  OLD  HOME  AT  RED  HILL  make  a  "soft"  or 

temperance     drink. 

While  he  was  governor  of  Virginia  he  always  had  this 
beverage  upon  his  dinner  table,  trying  in  every  way  to 
make  it  popular. 

His  grandson  has  left  us  a  beautiful  picture  of  his 
home  life  at  Red  Hill.  The  family  residence  was  on 
a  high  bluff  overlooking  the  bottom  lands  of  the  river. 
Henry  was  accustomed,  during  the  milder  seasons  of 
the  year,  to  get  up  before  sunrise,  "while  the  air  was 
cool  and  calm,"  and  enjoy  the  sounds  of  the  early 
morning  as  they  came  from  the  farmyard,  the  river, 
and  the  wood  lot.  A  little  later  he  would  stand  on  the 


PATRICK  HENRY  31 

high  place  and  give  directions  to  his  slaves  who  were 
half  a  mile  away.  "The  strong  musical  voices  of  the 
negroes  responded  to  him."  It  is  said  that  even  at  this 
time  his  beautiful  voice  could  be  heard  distinctly  "over 
&n  area  which  ten  thousand  people  could  not  have 
filled,"  and  that  "the  tones  of  his  voice  were  as  melo 
dious  as  the  notes  of  an  Alpine  horn." 

During  all  of  this  time  the  aged  statesman  continued 
to  read  his  Bible.  He  spent  one  hour  each  day  in 
private  devotion.  His  hour  of  prayer  was  at  sunset, 
and  during  that  sacred  time,  his  grandson  tells  us,  no 
member  of  the  family  "  ever  intruded  upon  his  privacy." 

Finally,  when  he  knew  that  his  end  was  near,  he 
remarked  to  the  physician  at  his  bedside  that  religion 
was  a  great  comfort  to  a  man  about  to  die.  A  few 
moments  later  he  closed  his  eyes  in  peace,  breathed  his 
last,  and  was  gathered  unto  his  fathers.  He  might 
have  said, 

I  have  fought  a  good  fight,  I  have  finished  my  course,  I  have 
kept  the  faith. 

HINTS   AND   QUESTIONS 

1.  Patrick  Henry  didn't  succeed  very  well  at  first.     What  do 

you  think  the  reason  was? 

2.  What  body  of  men  in  your  state  would  correspond  to  the 

House  of  Burgesses  of  Virginia? 

3.  Why   did    men   shout    "treason,"   "treason,"   while   Patrick 

Henry  was  making  his  famous  speech? 

4.  When  and  where  did  the  First  Continental  Congress  meet? 

What  was  the  purpose  of  the  meeting? 


32  THE  MAKERS  OF  AMERICA 

5.  Where  is  "  Red  Hill  "  and  for  what  is  it  noted? 

6.  Why  did  Patrick  Henry  have  so  much  influence  in  Virginia 

and  elsewhere?    Was  it  on  account  of  his  oratory  alone? 

7.  What  government  office  did  he  hold  in  Virginia? 

8.  What  was  the  Stamp  Act? 

9.  Tell  something  about  Patrick  Henry's  family  life. 
10.   What  did  he  do  for  his  country? 

PRONOUNCING  LIST 

Burgesses     bur'jes-ez 


CHAPTER  III 

SAMUEL  ADAMS,   THE   ORGANIZER  OF  THE 
REVOLUTION 

If  it  were  not   for  two  or  three  Adamses,  we  should  do 
well  enough. 

— THOMAS  HUTCHINSON, 
Royal  Governor  of  Massachusetts 

JAMES  OTIS  and  Patrick  Henry  preached  resistance  to 
the  policy  of  the  Mother  Country  with  a  fiery  zeal. 
They  were  the  impassioned  orators  of  the  Revolution. 
They  stirred  up  the  colonists  to  a  high  pitch  of  en 
thusiasm.  They  moved  and  persuaded  them  to  take 
a  firm  stand  for  Independence. 

Samuel  Adams  was  a  very  different  kind  of  man. 
He  was  not  much  of  a  talker,  but  he  was  a  tireless 
worker.  After  Otis  and  Henry  had  persuaded  men  to 
act,  Adams  told  them  what  action  to  take.  He  called 
meetings,  appointed  committees,  wrote  letters,  and 
drafted  resolutions.  He  saw  to  it  that  things  were  ac 
tually  done.  He  made  plans  and  got  men  to  carry 
them  out.  He  was  a  man  of  action,  not  of  words.  He 
did  not  merely  talk  about  things,  he  did  things. 

"Samuel  Adams  was  born  to  serve  on  committees." 
He  has  been  called  "the  man  of  the  town  meeting." 

33 


34  THE  MAKERS  OF  AMERICA 

Some  have  called  him  "the  brains  of  the  Revolution." 
Massachusetts  was  the  leader  of  the  Revolution;  Bos 
ton  was  the  leader  of  Massachusetts;  and  Samuel 
Adams  was  the  leader  of  Boston.  So  it  will  be  seen 
that  there  was  good  reason  for  calling  Adams  The 
Organizer  of  the  Revolution. 

The  Adams  family  is  one  of  the  most  illustrious  in 
American  History.  Two  members  of  this  family  have 
occupied  the  Presidential  chair,  and  a  score  of  others 
have  held  prominent  positions  in  the  Nation.  The 
founder  of  the  family  in  this  country  was  Henry  Adams, 
who  came  from  England  with  his  wife  and  family  of 
eight  children  at  a  very  early  date. 

Samuel  Adams,  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  was  born 
in  Boston,  in  1722.  He  was  a  member  of  a  family  of 
twelve  children.  His  father  was  a  thrifty  and  success 
ful  business  man  who  owned  a  malt  house  on  the  Bay. 
The  fine  old  family  mansion  was  located  near  by.  It 
stood  on  the  water  front  and  commanded  a  splendid 
view  of  the  harbor. 

The  father,  who  was  also  named  Samuel,  was  a 
leader  in  public  affairs,  and  at  one  time  a  member  of 
the  legislature  of  the  colony.  His  son  called  him  "a 
wise  and  a  good  man,"  and  such  he  undoubtedly  was. 

The  young  Adams  was  a  staid  and  serious  lad,  and, 
unlike  Patrick  Henry,  attended  school  with  great  regu 
larity.  It  is  said  that  he  passed  along  the  street  so 
regularly,  in  going  to  and  from  school,  that  laborers 
were  in  the  habit  of  telling  the  time  of  day  by  his 


SAMUEL  ADAMS 


SAMUEL  ADAMS 
Adams  is  pleading  the  cause  of  the  colonies  and  urging  Independence. 


36  THE  MAKERS  OF  AMERICA 

appearance.  Whether  this  is  true  or  not,  he  was  "as 
steady  as  a  clock"  and  made  good  progress  in  his  studies. 

He  later  went  to  Harvard  College  where  he  was 
graduated  at  the  age  of  eighteen.  His  father  wished 
him  to  become  a  minister,  but  he  was  inclined  to  be 
a  lawyer.  He  began  the  study  of  law  but  did  not  seem 
to  be  very  much  interested  in  it.  His  mother  also  was 
opposed  to  it.  The  profession  of  law  was  not  at  that 
time  in  such  good  standing  as  it  is  now. 

The  young  Adams  then  went  into  business.  He 
didn't  like  this  either.  He  had  no  taste  for  trade  and 
cared  very  little  for  money.  It  was  about  this  time 
that  his  father  gave  him  five  thousand  dollars  to  enable 
him  to  set  up  in  business  for  himself.  He  loaned  half 
of  his  money  to  a  friend  who  never  paid  it  back  and 
promptly  lost  the  remainder  in  a  business  venture.  He 
then  went  into  partnership  with  his  father  in  the  malt 
business,  but  the  musty  old  malt-house  had  no  attrac 
tions  for  him.  He  was  about  as  good  a  business  man 
as  Patrick  Henry  was;  but,  as  in  the  case  of  Henry, 
there  was  a  more  important  work  awaiting  him. 

He  was  a  patriot,  not  a  money  maker.  He  once  told 
his  cousin,  John  Adams,  that  he  never  made  plans  for 
"laying  up  anything  for  himself  or  others  after  him." 
When  he  was  about  to  set  out  for  Philadelphia  to 
attend  the  first  Continental  Congress,  some  of  his 
friends  saw  that  his  clothes  were  rather  shabby  and 
suspected  that  there  was  not  much  money  in  his 
pocket.  Consequently,  they  bought  him  a  suit  of 


SAMUEL  ADAMS 


37 


clothes,  a  new  wig  and  a  hat,  a  dozen  pairs  of  stock 
ings,  and  six  pairs  of  shoes.  And  when  he  admitted 
that  his  funds  were  rather  low,  they  also  gave  him  a 
modest  sum  of  money  to  pay  his  expenses. 

Although  Adams  usually  thought  things  over  care- 


JOHN  HANCOCK  DISCUSSING  THE  STAMP  ACT 

Hancock  is  standing.  John  and  Samuel  Adams  are  present,  also 
a  ship  captain  who  has  brought  stamps  from  England  to  sell  to  the 
colonists. 

fully  he  was  rather  extreme  and  radical  in  his  views. 
His  period  of  greatest  activity  begins  with  the  passing 
of  the  Stamp  Act,  which  he  opposed  most  vigorously. 
He  also  suggested  the  calling  of  the  Stamp  Act  Con 
gress  to  protest  against  the  measure. 


3^  THE  MAKERS  OF  AMERICA 

About  this  time  the  colonies  began  to  sound  the 
slogan  "no  taxation  without  representation."  It  was 
then  suggested  by  some  that  the  American  colonies 
might  send  representatives  to  sit  in  the  British  Parlia 
ment.  James  Otis  and  Benjamin  Franklin  were  of 


READING  THE  STAMP  ACT  IN  BOSTON 

The  British  Stamp  Act  of  1765  caused  great  excitement  in  America. 
It  contained  fifty-five  clauses  and  put  a  stamp  tax  on  a  great  many 
different  articles.  It  was  repealed  a  year  later. 

this  mind,  and  thought  that  the  difficulty  with  the 
Mother  Country  might  be  solved  in  this  way.  Adams 
was  not  of  this  opinion.  He  thought  that  a  small 
number  of  American  representatives  would  not  count 
for  much  in  such  a  large  assembly  as  the  British  Par 
liament.  He  had  thought  the  whole  matter  over  care- 


SAMUEL  ADAMS 


39 


fully  and  said  that  he  would  be  satisfied  with  nothing 
less  than  the  complete  independence  of  the  colonies. 

When  once  he  had  made  up  his  mind,  Adams  was 
steadfast  in  his  opinions.  After  the  repeal  of  the 
Stamp  Act,  and  before 
the  Declaration  of 
Independence,  General 
Gage  tried  to  make 
Adams  change  his 
mind.  Gage  was  Com 
mander  of  the  British 
troops  in  America  and 
suggested  to  Adams 
that  he  stop  fighting 
and  "make  peace  with 
the  King."  To  this 
Adams  replied, "  I  trust 
I  have  made  my  peace 
with  the  King  of  kings. 
No  personal  considera 
tions  shall  induce  me 
to  abandon  the 


SAMUEL  ADAMS  CALLED  BEFORE  THOMAS 

HUTCHINSON,  THE  ROYAL  GOVERNOR 


righteous  cause  of  my    Adams  Save  the  Governor  a  good  deal  of 

,,  J     trouble  and  was  called  in  for  discipline, 

country. 

Adams  was  a  stern  Puritan  and  could  not  be  easily 
moved  from  the  path  of  duty.  Thomas  Hutchinson, 
the  King's  Governor  of  Massachusetts,  in  a  letter  to 
the  British  Government,  said  that  Adams  was  of  "such 
obstinate  and  inflexible  disposition  that  no  gift  nor 


40  THE  MAKERS  OF  AMERICA 

office  would  ever  conciliate  him."  It  was  the  custom 
in  those  days  to  bribe  men  by  "gift"  or  " office,"  but 
the  plan  would  not  work  in  the  case  of  Samuel  Adams. 

A  little  later,  when  the  Declaration  of  Independence 
was  being  discussed,  and  when  some  timid  souls  began 
to  show  signs  of  weakness,  Adams  exclaimed:  "I 
should  advise  persisting  in  our  struggle  for  liberty 
though  it  were  revealed  from  Heaven  that  999  were  to 
perish,  and  one  out  of  1,000  were  to  survive  and  retain 
his  liberty.  One  such  freeman  must  possess  more  virtue, 
and  enjoy  more  happiness,  than  1,000  slaves;  and  let 
him  propagate  his  like,  and  transmit  to  them  what  he 
has  so  nobly  preserved." 

The  Declaration  of  Independence  was  passed  soon 
after,  and  Samuel  Adams  .took  great  pleasure  in  sign 
ing  it.  His  friend  John  Hancock  had  signed  it  first 
in  letters  so  large  that  "  George  the  Third  could  read 
it  without  his  glasses." 

Naturally  enough,  all  of  this  did  not  tend  to  make 
Adams  popular  with  the  British  officers;  and  so  the 
King's  men  tried  to  capture  him  and  his  friend  Hancock 
and  send  them  to  England  to  be  tried  for  treason.  They 
knew  very  well  what  their  fate  would  be  if  they  were 
captured. 

On  the  night  before  the  Battle  of  Lexington,  the 
first  battle  of  the  Revolution,  General  Gage  laid  plans 
to  capture  the  two  men,  whom  he  called  the  "  Arch 
Rebels."  Hancock  and  Adams  had  stopped  for  the 
night  at  the  home  of  Rev.  Jonas  Clarke  in  Lexing- 


SAMUEL  ADAMS  41 

ton.  Gage  planned  to  swoop  down  upon  them  at  mid 
night  and  bring  them  to  Boston  in  chains.  Paul  Revere, 
however,  rode  out  from  Boston  on  Deacon  Larkin's 
swift  horse  and  arrived  at  the  minister's  house  just  in 
time  to  give  them  warning.  As  the  British  troops 
appeared,  Hancock  and  Adams  left  the  house  and  took 
to  the  woods.  The  next  day  Adams  stood  on  a  wooded 


KITCHEN  AND  LIVING  ROOM  IN  THE  JONAS  CLARKE  HOUSE* 

Examine  the  picture  carefully  and  see  how  many  of  the  articles  you 
can  identify. 

hill  near  by  and,  seeing  the  beginning  of  the  Battle  of 
Lexington,  exclaimed,  "  What  a  glorious  morning  for, 
America!"  He  had  visions  of  Independence  for  the 
colonies. 

All  the  threats  of  the  British  officers  could  not  in 
timidate  Samuel  Adams.  He  stuck  to  his  task  and 
used  every  possible  means  to  accomplish  his  work. 
He  would  talk  to  men  in  the  street  and  on  the  docks, 


42  THE  MAKERS  OF  AMERICA 

—  everywhere  that  men  would  listen  to  him.  He  also 
wrote  pamphlets,  and  "  poured  himself  into  the  news 
papers."  He  never  seemed  to  tire  of  writing.  People 
passing  his  house  were  accustomed  to  see  a  light  in 
his  window  in  the  wee  small  hours  of  the  morning.  As 
they  went  their  way  they  often  said  to  themselves  that 
"  Sam  Adams  was  hard  at  work  writing  against  the 
Tories"  in  England.  The  Tories  knew  it,  also.  They 
felt  the  jab  of  his  pen.  One  of  the  royal  governors  of 
Massachusetts  once  said  of  Adams  that  "every  dip  of 
his  pen  stings  like  a  horned  snake." 

While  active  in  the  affairs  leading  to  the  Revolution, 
Adams  still  continued  to  live  in  the  old  mansion  on 
the  Bay  with  its  "  light  in  the  window."  His  home 
.life  was  happy  and  comfortable.  A  son,  now  twenty- 
two  years  of  age,  was  studying  medicine,  after  having 
graduated  from  Harvard  College.  His  daughter,  a 
charming  young  girl  of  seventeen,  was  still  in  school. 
There  was  joy  and  music  in  the  family  circle.  Adams 
had  a  good  voice  and  liked  to  sing  some  of  the  old 
songs.  Family  prayers  were  said,  and  the  Bible  was 
read  aloud  every  evening.  "Old  Surry,"  a  black 
"mammy,"  lived  in  the  Adams  family  for  fifty  years 
and  was  devotedly  attached  to  every  member  of  it. 
When  slavery  was  abolished  in  Massachusetts,  she  was 
offered  her  freedom  but  declined.  She  threw  the  papers 
into  the  fire,  and  exclaimed  that  "she  had  libbed  too 
long  to  be  trifled  with." 

Old    Queue    was    another    patriotic    and    interesting 


SAMUEL  ADAMS  43 

member  of  the  Adams  household.  Queue  was  a  fine, 
big,  intelligent  Newfoundland  dog,  and  he  was  in 
entire  sympathy  with  his  master's  views.  He  hated 
the  British  soldiers  just  as  much  as  anyone  could. 
Whenever  he  saw  a  "red  coat"  he  made  a  dash  for  it. 
As  a  result  "he  was  cut  and  shot  in  several  places  by 
the  soldiers  .  .  .  and  bore  to  his  grave  honorable  scars 
from  his  fierce  encounters."  Old  Queue  did  his  part 
in  winning  Independence  for  the  American  colonies. 

Samuel  Adams  devoted  his  whole  life  unselfishly  to 
public  affairs,  with  no  thought  of  his  own  private 
fortune.  He  served  on  committees  of  various  kinds 
and  held  important  offices  both  in  the  state  and  nation. 
His  salary  was  either  nothing  at  all  or  very  small.  He 
saved  nothing,  and  it  might  have  been  necessary  to 
bury  him  at  public  expense  if  he  had  not  inherited 
six  thousand  dollars  upon  the  death  of  his  son.  His 
son,  already  mentioned,  was  an  army  surgeon,  who  at 
the  time  of  his  death  had  certain  claims  against  the 
government.  These  claims  went  to  his  father  and 
helped  him  greatly  in  his  old  age. 

On  the  early  morning  of  Sunday,  October  2,  1803, 
the  tolling  of  the  church  bells  awakened  the  inhabitants 
of  Boston  and  they  knew  that  Samuel  Adams  had  passed 
away.  He  was  eighty-one  years  of  age  at  the  time  of 
his  death.  He  was  buried,  very  fittingly,  near  the 
resting  place  of  the  victims  of  the  "Boston  Massacre." 
(p.  58).  "In  what  is  now  Adams  Square,  the  town 
he  loved  has  commemorated  him  worthily  in  imposing 


44  THE  MAKERS  OF  AMERICA 

bronze.  His  dust  lies  almost  beneath  the  feet  of  the 
passers  in  the  great  thoroughfare,  and  no  stone  marks 
the  spot." 

Here  lie  the  ashes  of  "Sam  Adams,  the  Malster," 
"a  man,  who,  in  the  history  of  the  American  Revolu 
tion,  is  second  only  to  Washington." 

That  man  may  last,  but  never  lives, 
Who  much  receives,  but  nothing  gives. 

Samuel  Adams  gave  his  all  to  his  Country. 

HINTS   AND   QUESTIONS 

1.   How  did  Samuel  Adams  differ  from  James  Otis  and  Patrick 

Henry? 
12.   What    do    you    consider    Adams's    greatest    service    to    the 

Revolution? 

3.  Where  is  Harvard  University  located? 

4.  What  is  meant  by  "  No  Taxation  without  representation"? 

5.  See  if  you  can  find  a  copy  of  John  Hancock's  signature  to 

the  Declaration  of  Independence. 

6.  Which   was    the    first    battle    of  the   American    Revolution? 

Locate  it  on  the  map. 

7.  Why  is   Samuel  Adams   sometimes   called    "  The   Father  of 

the  American  Revolution"  ? 
B.   See  if  you  can  find  out  who  the  "Tories"  were. 


CHAPTER  IV 

BENJAMIN   FRANKLIN,   THE  BALANCE   WHEEL 
OF   THE   REVOLUTION 

As  a  patriot  none  surpassed  him. 

-JOHN  T.  MORSE,  JR. 

But  matchless  Franklin!    What  a  few 
Can  hope  to  rival  such  as  you, 
Who  seized  from  kings  their  sceptered  pride, 
And  turned  the  lightning's  darts  aside. 

-PHILIP  FRENEAU 

BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN  is  an  old  friend.  We  first  met 
him  as  a  young  printer  in  Boston.  Later  we  saw  him, 
as  a  boy  of  seventeen,  setting  out  to  seek  his  fortune  in 
New  York.  Not  finding  anything  to  do  in  that  place, 
he  went  to  Philadelphia,  where  he  became  famous. 
We  all  remember  how  odd  and  old-fashioned  he  looked 
when  he  walked  down  Market  Street,  Philadelphia, 
with  a  loaf  of  bread  under  each  arm  and  munching  a 
third.  We  have  all  probably  read  parts  of  his  "Poor 
Richard's  Almanac,"  which  contains  so  many  wise  and 
useful  sayings. 

Franklin  was  a  great  and  a  wise  man,  but,  at  the 

45 


46  THE  MAKERS  OF  AMERICA 

same  time,  a  very  simple  and  modest  one.  He  was 
truly  genuine  and  sincere  and  never  cared  for  show. 
He  makes  "Poor  Richard"  say: 

Fond  pride  of  dress  is  sure  a  very  curse; 
Ere  fancy  you  consult,  consult  your  purse. 

And  again  he  says: 

It  is  as   truly  folly  for  the  poor  to  ape  the  rich,  as  for  the 
frog  to  swell  in  order  to  equal  the  ox. 

Franklin  was  the  oldest  man  in  the  public  life  of 
America  at  the  time  of  the  Revolution.  And  no  other 
man  of  his  day  could  do  so  many  things  well.  For 
this  reason  he  has  been  called  "the  many-sided 
Franklin." 

As  a  man  he  was  kind,  genial  and  thoughtful.  There 
was  no  malice  in  his  great  soul.  He  was  not  selfish. 
He  wanted  a  "square  deal"  for  everybody.  He  never 
acted  hastily.  When  a  matter  was  presented  to  him  he 
thought  it  over  carefully  —  up  one  side  and  down  the 
other  —  before  coming  to  a  conclusion.  He  took  large 
and  broad  views  of  things.  He  had  traveled  exten 
sively,  both  in  Europe  and  America,  and  was  a  kind  of 
"citizen  of  the  world."  He  was  a  very  human  sort 
of  man  and  everyone  loved  him.  He  was  also  a  practi 
cal  man  of  good,  hard,  common  sense,  and  thus  became 
The  Balance  Wheel  of  the  Revolution. 

Franklin  was  born  in  Boston  in  1706,  and  was  thus 
sixty  years  of  age  when  the  colonists  were  fighting  for 
the  repeal  of  the  Stamp  Act.  Franklin  was  one  of  the 


BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN 


47 


FRANKLIN'S  BOOK  SHOP 


48  THE  MAKERS  OF  AMERICA 

last  of  the  great  men  of  America  to  advocate  the  inde 
pendence  of  the  colonies,  but  he  was  one  of  the  first 
to  protest  against  unjust  taxation.  His  influence  in  this 
respect  was  powerful  in  England  as  well  as  in  this  country. 
After  the  Stamp  Act  was  passed,  Franklin  went  to 
England  and  tried  to  get  it  repealed.  He  appeared  be 
fore  the  House  of  Commons  (the  lower  house  of  the 
English  Parliament)  and  gave  his  reasons  in  a  most 
convincing  way.  This  dialogue  between  Franklin  and 
the  members  of  Parliament  has  been  printed  and  is 
very  interesting.  Franklin  stated  the  case  of  the  Ameri 
can  colonists  as  well  as  it  could  possibly  be  stated. 
Let  us  notice  a  few  of  the  questions  and  answers. 

Question:    "Do  you  think  the  people  of  America  would  submit 

to  pay  the  stamp  duty,  if  it  was  moderated?" 
Answer:    "No,  never  unless  compelled  by  force  of  arms." 
Question:    "What   was   the   temper   of   America   towards    Great 

Britain  before  the  year  1763?" 
Answer:    "The  best  in  the  world." 
Question:    "And  what  is  their  temper  now?" 
Answer:    "O,  very  much  altered." 
Question:    "And    have    they    not    still    the  same    respect    for 

Parliament?" 

Answer:   "No,  it  is  greatly  lessened." 
Question:    "Do  you  think  if  the  Stamp  Act  is  repealed  that  the 

North  Americans  will  be  satisfied?" 
Answer:    "I  believe  they  will." 

Question:    "What  used  to  be  the  pride  of  Americans?" 
Answer:     "To    indulge    in    the    fashions    and    manufactures    of 

Great  Britain." 
Question:    "What  is  now  their  pride?" 


BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN 


49 


Answer'.    "To  wear  their  old  clothes  over  again   till   they  can 
make  new  ones." 

This  interview  was  a  long  one  and  in  the  course  of 
it  Franklin  presented  many  facts  and  views  which 
were  new  to  the  men 
across  the  sea.  Some 
of  the  questions,  you 
will  notice,  were  asked 
by  men  who  were 
friendly  to  the 
American  colonies  in 
order  to  bring  out  | 

"*****  tjm  H  1 

these  facts  and  views. 

The  Stamp  Act  was 
repealed  a  short  time 
after  and  it  is  likely 
that  Franklin's  inter 
view  was  influential  in 
bringing  this  about. 

Ten  years  later, 
when  Franklin  had 
reached  the  age  of 
three  score  years  and 

ten,  he  helped  to  draft  the  Declaration  of  Independence 
and  also  signed  his  name  to  that  great  document.  Thomas 
Jefferson  wrote  the  Declaration  after  getting  suggestions 
from  the  other  members  of  the  committee,  of  whom 
Franklin  was  one.  Franklin  had  a  very  gifted  pen  and 
some  thought  that  he  might  be  called  upon  to  write  the 


DISCUSSING  THE  DECLARATION  OF 
INDEPENDENCE 

You   will   recognize   Thomas   Jefferson, 
John  Adams  and  Benjamin  Franklin. 


50  THE  MAKERS  OF  AMERICA 

document.  One  man,  however,  tells  us  that  Franklin  was 
not  chosen  for  this  task  because  it  was  feared  that  he 
might  put  a  joke  into  it. 

The  signing  of  this  document  was,  of  course,  a  very 
serious  matter,  but  all  were  in  good  humor  now  that  the 
struggle  was  over.  After  signing  his  name  one  man 
remarked  very  seriously,  "Now  we  must  all  hang  to 
gether."  "Yes,"  said  Franklin,  "or  we  shall  all  hang 
separately." 

A  few  months  before  this  time  the  British  Lord 
North  had  a  conversation  with  Franklin  in  regard  to 
a  settlement  of  the  American  trouble.  North  said: 
"An  agreement  is  necessary  for  America;  it  is  so  easy 
for  Britain  to  burn  all  your  seaport  towns." 

To  this  Franklin  replied:  "My  little  property  con 
sists  in  houses  in  those  towns;  you  may  make  bonfires 
of  them  whenever  you  please;  the  fear  of  losing  them 
will  never  alter  my  resolution  to  resist  to  the  last  the 
claim  of  Parliament." 

On  the  day  after  the  Declaration  of  Independence 
was  signed,  Franklin  wrote  the  following  letter  to 
William  Strahan,  who  had  been  his  intimate  friend: 

MR.  STRAHAN.  —  You  are  a  member  of  Parliament,  and  one 
of  that  majority  which  has  doomed  my  country  to  destruction. 
You  have  begun  to  burn  our  towns  and  murder  our  people. 
Look  upon  your  hands;  they  are  stained  with  the  blood  of  your 
relations!  You  and  I  were  long  friends;  you  are  now  my  enemy, 
and  I  am 

Yours, 
B.  FRANKLIN 


BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN 


BENJAMIN  FKANKLIN 

Franklin  was  a  student  of  general  welfare.  He  began  the  paving  of 
streets  in  Philadelphia,  started  the  circulating  library,  organized  the 
first  fire  company,  invented  the  Franklin  stove  to  take  the  place  of 
the  old  open  fireplace,  and  did  many  other  things  for  the  good  of 
the  people. 


52  THE  MAKERS  OF  AMERICA 

Two  years  after  the  Declaration  of  Independence; 
Franklin  went  to  France  with  two  other  men  and 
succeeded  in  making  an  agreement  whereby  France 
aided  us  with  men  and  money  in  our  struggle  with 
Great  Britain.  Franklin  was  a  great  favorite  at  the 
court  of  France  and  had  much  influence  in  bringing 
about  this  treaty. 

After  Independence  had  been  won  Franklin  again 
went  to  England  —  this  time  on  a  very  different 
mission.  He  was  to  make  a  treaty  of  peace.  He  did 
so  in  1783;  and,  as  Tom  Paine  remarked,  "The  times 
that  tried  men's  souls  were  over." 


In  the  summer  of  1787  a  great  convention  of  the 
leading  men  of  America  was  called  together  in  Phila 
delphia  to  make  a  new  constitution  for  the  United 
States.  Franklin,  at  eighty-one  years  of  age,  was  one 
of  the  most  valuable  members  of  this  body.  He  was 
America's  " grand  old  man,"  and  was  greatly  beloved 
by  all  the  members.  When  the  delegates  could  not 
agree,  or  when  they  became  angry,  it  was  usually 
Franklin's  part  to  smooth  matters  out. 

Franklin's  sense  of  humor  was  so  strong  that  he 
could  not  restrain  it  even  when  serious  matters  were 
being  considered.  It  will  be  noticed,  however,  that 
wisdom  was  always  mixed  with  his  humor.  For  example 
when  he  was  twenty- two  years  of  age,  he  wrote  the 
following  epitaph  for  himself: 


BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN  53 

"The  body  of  Benjamin  Franklin,  Printer,  Lies  here 
.  .  .  ;  But  the  work  shall  not  be  lost,  for  it  will 
appear  once  more  in  a  new  and  more  elegant  edition, 
revised  and  corrected  by  the  author." 

Although  he  did  not  attend  church  regularly  Franklin 
was  a  devoutly  religious  man.  He  believed  in  prayer 
and  practiced  it.  Here  is  one  of  Thomson's  poems 
of  which  he  was  fond: 

Father  of  light  and  life,  thou  good  supreme! 

O  teach  me  what  is  good;    teach  me  thyself! 

Save  me  from  folly,  vanity,  and  vice, 

From  every  low  pursuit;    and  fill  my  soul 

With  knowledge,  conscious  peace,  and  virtue  pure; 

Sacred,  substantial,  never-fading  bliss! 

After  a  well  rounded  and  complete  life  Franklin 
died  in  Boston  in  1790  at  the  ripe  old  age  of  eighty- 
four.  A  short  time  before  his  death,  and  when  he 
knew  that  his  end  was  near,  he  insisted  upon  getting 
up  to  have  his  bed  properly  made.  He  wished,  as  he 
said,  to  "die  in  a  decent  manner." 

The  chief  motive  of  his  life  was  to  promote  the  welfare  of 
mankind. 

—  JOHN  T.   MORSE,  JR. 

HINTS   AND   QUESTIONS 

1.  How  did  Benjamin  Franklin  resemble  a  "  balance  wheel  "? 

2.  Why  was  Franklin  called  "  many-sided  "? 

3.  Do  you  think  that  Benjamin  Franklin   and   Patrick   Henry 

were  alike  in  disposition? 

4.  What   was   the    chief   motive    of   Benjamin   Franklin's    life? 


CHAPTER  V 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON,   THE  PILLAR   OF  THE 
REPUBLIC 

Observe  good  faith  and  justice  toward  all  nations.  Cul 
tivate  peace  and  harmony  with  all.  Religion  and  morality 
enjoin  this  conduct. 

-  WASHINGTON  's  FAREWELL  ADDRESS 

WE  HAVE  all  met  George  Washington  before  —  many 
times.     We  saw  him  as  a  boy  of  seventeen  surveying 

in  the  western  wilder 
ness.  We  saw  him  a 
sturdy  frontiersman  of 
twenty-one  carrying 
the  famous  message  to 
the  French  command 
er  in  northwestern 
Pennsylvania.  We 
held  our  breath  at 
times,  not  knowing 
whether  he  would  re- 


WASHINGTON  AS  A  SURVEYOR 


Washington  surveyed  the  western  wilder-    fllrn      fn     Vircrinia      in 

ness.      He    preceded    the    "Westward 

Movement."  safety  or  fall  a  victim 

to  the  perils  of  winter 

or  the  treachery  of  the  red  man.     At  the  time  of  Brad- 
dock's  famous  march  we  saw  him  save  the  day  in  the  dark 

54 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON 


55 


valley  of  the  Monongahela  River.  Some  of  us  have  paid 
a  loving  tribute  to  his  memory  at  the  old  home  on  the 
Potomac  River,  and  all  of  us  think  of  him  each  year  on 
the  twenty-second  of  February. 

Washington  was  a  very  different  kind  of  man  from 
those  already  considered.     He  was  not  a  great  orator 

like  Otis  or  Henry. 

In  fact  he  rarely 
attempted  to  make 
a  speech.  He  was 
not  a  skillful  writer 
and  organizer  like 
Samuel  Adams.  He 
wrote  many  letters 
on  public  questions, 
but  his  spelling  was 
rather  poor,  and  his 
grammar  not  always 
correct.  He  was  not 
so  good  a  scholar  as 
Alexander  Hamilton 


\  *«'•  Field 


Alexandria  c 
Mount  Vernonc 


MAP  SHOWING  SOME  OF  WASHINGTON'S 
ACTIVITIES  IN  THE  OLD  FRENCH  WAR 


His  home  was  at  Mount  Vernon.  He 
carried  his  famous  letter  to  the  French 
Commander  at  Fort  Le  Bceuf,  and  he 
fought  on  Braddock's  Field. 


or  James  Madison. 
In  his  services  to  the  nation,  however,  he  excelled  all 
these  men.  He  was  a  great,  large  man,  of  good  common 
sense  and  sound  judgment.  He  knew'  the  thing  to  be 
done,  and  did  it  without  flinching. 

Unlike  Patrick  Henry  he  was  a  splendid  business 
man.  He  was  thrifty  and  saving  and  owned  a  great 
deal  of  property.  For  all  of  these  reasons  the  people 


THE  MAKERS  OF  AMERICA 


came  to  have  great  confidence  in  him.  He  was  the 
Pillar  of  the  Republic  —  the  strong  staff  upon  which 
the  nation  leaned  in  time  of  danger. 

Things  went  from  bad  to  worse  in  the  contest  with 
the  Mother  Country,  and  soon  the  fight  was  on.     All 

of  the  eloquence  of 
Patrick  Henry  and  the 
good  sense  and  kindli- 
ness  of  Benjamin 
Franklin  could  not 
stem  the  tide  of  British 
tyranny.  The  king 
and  his  minsters  kept 
right  on  in  their  stupid 
way.  Some  of  the 
great  men  in  the  Eng 
lish  Parliament,  such 
Here  on  March  5,  1770,  the  first  blood-  a s  Edmund  Burke  and 
shed  in  the  Revolutionary  War  took  William  Pitt,  pleaded 
place. 

with  them  to  with 
draw  the  British  troops  from  America  and  treat  the  col 
onists  fairly.  They  paid  no  attention  to  this  good  advice. 
They  did,  of  course,  repeal  the  Stamp  Act;  but  they 
made  other  laws  which  were  just  as  bad,  or  even  worse. 
They  levied  many  other  taxes  and  again  the  colonists 
objected.  The  Americans  erected  " liberty  poles"  with 
flags  on  top  and  the  British  soldiers  cut  them  down, 
sawed  them  into  pieces,  and  piled  them  up  in  front  of 


THE  BOSTON  MASSACRE 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON 


57 


the  buildings  where  meetings  were  being  held.     On  one 
occasion  a  riot  followed  and  one  man  was  killed. 

In  Boston  the  people  objected  very  seriously  to  the 
presence  of  the  British  troops.     The  soldiers  were  not 


THE  BOSTON  TEA  PARTY 

Here  the  "Indians"   are  dumping  the  tea  into  the  Boston  Harbor. 
Why  would  they  not  permit  it  to  be  brought  ashore? 

a  very  nice  class  of  men.  They  carried  on  horse-racing 
and  gambling  on  Sunday,  during  church  hours,  and  to 
this  the  Puritan  spirit  objected.  Men  and  boys  began 
to  annoy  them,  and  finally  pelted  them  with  sticks  and 
stones.  On  March  5,  1770,  the  soldiers  fired  into  a 


58  THE  MAKERS  OF  AMERICA 

crowd,  killing  five  of  the  citizens  and  wounding  six. 
All  Boston  was  at  fever  heat.  A  great  mass  meeting 
demanded  that  the  soldiers  be  withdrawn  from  the  city, 
and  this  was  done.  For  many  years  after,  this  event, 
which  came  to  be  known  as  the  "  Boston  Massacre," 
was  celebrated  by  meetings  and  memorial  speeches. 

The  English  backed  up  on  other  measures  but  not 
quite  far  enough.  They  repealed  all  the  objectionable 
taxes  except  the  one  on  tea.  They  then  tried  to  bring 
a  cargo  of  tea  into  the  Boston  harbor.  The  indignant 
citizens  wanted  the  ship  to  turn  back,  but  the  Royal 
Governor  refused  to  give  the  order.  A  party  of  men 
dressed  up  as  Indians  then  went  on  board  the  vessel 
and  dumped  the  tea  into  the  Boston  harbor.  It  is  said 
that  on  the  next  morning  a  great  many  prominent  citi 
zens  of  Boston  found  quantities  of  tea  in  their  shoes. 
This  "tea  party,"  as  it  was  called,  was  another  step 
toward  war. 

It  kept  King  George  so  long  awake 
His  brain  at  last  got  addled. 

The  English  reply  to  the  "Boston  Tea  Party"  was 
the  passage  of  five  "intolerable"  or  unbearable  meas 
ures.  These  measures  provided  for  the  closing  of  the 
Boston  harbor — an  act  of  vengeance.  They  also 
changed  the  charter  of  Massachusetts,  and  provided 
that  more  troops  should  be  sent  to  America  to  be 
"quartered"  upon  the  people.  This  made  the  colonists 
furious,  but  all  to  no  avail.  It  was  seen  that  war  might 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON 


59 


break  out  at  any  moment.  The  " Minute-Men'7  were 
organized.  These  were  men  who  had  pledged  themselves 
to  be  ready  for  service  in  the  field  at  a  moment's  notice. 
They  had  not  long  to  wait.  General  Gage,  who  did 
not  use  very  good  sense,  sent  his  troops  to  Concord  to 


THE  BATTLE  OF  LEXINGTON 
Notice  that  an  old  fence  furnished  part  of  the  entrenchments. 

capture  John  Hancock  and  Samuel  Adams  and  to  de 
stroy  some  military  supplies  which  had  been  stored  at 
that  place.  Paul  Revere  heard  of  this  plan  and,  gallop 
ing  out  on  horseback,  gave  the  alarm.  Hancock  and 
Adams  escaped  and  the  Minute-Men  met  the  British 


60  THE  MAKERS  OF  AMERICA 

troops  on  the  village  green  of  Lexington  on  April  19, 
1775.     Here  the  American  Revolution  began. 

At  Concord  bridge  the  fight  was  continued  and  the 
British  were  driven  back  in  great  disorder  to  Boston. 
They  had  lost  two  hundred  and  seventy  men,  while 
the  Americans  lost  ninety- three. 


The  next  scene  in  the  Revolution  is  laid  at  Fort 
Ticonderoga  on  the  beautiful  shore  of  Lake  Champlain. 
Ethan  Allen  was  a  Connecticut  boy  who  had  gone  out 
into  the  wild  country  between  the  Green  Mountains 
and  Lake  Champlain.  Here  he  became  a  bold  leader 
of  the  frontiersmen,  and  \vhen  he  heard  of  the  fight 
at  Lexington  he  marched  his  hardy  men  against  the 
British  at  Fort  Ticonderoga.  These  "  Green  Mountain 
Boys"  under  their  brave  leader,  "the  Robin  Hood  of 
the  forest,"  advanced  at  first  with  joyous  shouts  and 
then  with  stealthy  tread  into  the  forest  thickets.  The 
poet  Bryant  has  described  this  advance  as  follows: 

How  the  dark  wood  rings  with  our  voices  shrill 

That  startle  the  sleeping  bird! 
To-morrow  eve  must  the  voice  be  still, 

And  the  step  must  fall  unheard. 
The  Briton  lies  by  the  blue  Champlain, 

In  Ticonderoga's  towers, 
And  ere  the  sun  rise  twice  again, 

Must  they  and  the  lake  be  ours. 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON 


61 


The  Briton  and  the  Lake  were  ours  because  Allen 
and  his  brave  band  surprised  the  stronghold  at  day 
break,  and  demanded  its  surrender  "in  the  name  of 
the  Great  Jehovah  and 
the  Continental  Congress." 
The  commander  of  the  fort, 
who  had  hastily  jumped 
out  of  bed  and  was  still 
rubbing  his  eyes,  thought 
it  best  to  surrender,  and  he 
did  so,  May  10,  1775. 

The  capture  of  this  post 
was  important  because  it 
cut  the  British  line  which 
reached  to  Canada,  and  also 
because  a  large  amount  of 
military  supplies  fell  into 
the  hands  of  the  Ameri 
cans.  The  captured  cannon 
were  dragged  on  sledges  over 
the  snow  to  the  sea  coast 
and  then  sent  to  Boston. 

ETHAN  ALLEN 

The    next    scene    in    this      This  statue  is  Placed  in  the 
,  ....  Capitol  Building  at  Washing- 

great  drama  of  liberty  was      ton,  D.  C. 

on  the  top  of  Bunker  Hill, 

near  Boston.  The  Americans  had  fortified  the  top  of  this 
hill  and  the  British  army,  under  General  Howe,  was  sent 
to  drive  them  out.  The  British  thought  that  the  raw 


THE  MAKERS  OF  AMERICA 


American  soldiers  would  get  excited  and  fire  at  them 
before  they  came  within  range  of  their  guns.  They  planned 
then  to  drive  them  from  their  trenches  with  a  bayonet 


ISRAEL  PUTNAM  STARTING  FOR  THE  FRONT 

When  the  Minute-Men  were  called  it  did  not  take  Israel  Putnam 
long  to  grasp  his  musket  and  powder  horn. 

charge.  In  all  of  this  they  reckoned  without  the  American 
leader,  General  Israel  Putnam,  a  sturdy  old  frontier 
fighter.  Putnam  said  he  would  punish  severely  any 
man  who  fired  before  he  could  see  the  whites  of  the  eyes 
of  the  British. 


The  British  came 
held  their  fire  until 
away.  Volley  after 
volley  followed  and 
the  British  lines  fell 
back,  but  formed 
again.  Again  they 
were  repulsed. 

The  British  form 
ed  again  and  charged 
up  the  hill  a  third 
time.  This  time  they 
were  more  careful. 
UA  burnt  child 
dreads  the  fire." 
They  went  up  by  a 
roundabout  way. 
The  ships  in  the 
harbor  were  helping 
them  by  hurling 
shells  among  the  de 
fenders  of  the  hill. 
Charlestown,  near 
by,  was  on  fire.  A 
great  column  of 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  63 

up    the   hill   and   the   Americans 


the   enemy   was    only   sixty   feet 


THE  BEGINNING  OF  THE  REVO 
LUTION 

Ethan  Allen's  "Green  Mountain  Boys" 
took  Ticonderoga  and  the  "Minute- 
Men"  fought  at  Lexington  and  Con 
cord.  Charlestown  burned  while  the 
battle  raged  on  Bunker  Hill.  Notice 
that  Maine  at  this  time  was  a  prov 
ince  of  Massachusetts. 


black  smoke  surrounded  and  almost  blinded  the  Ameri 
cans.  Their  ammunition  gave  out  and  they  were  com 
pelled  to  fall  back.  The  Briton  was  a  victor  on  that 
June  day  on  the  top  of  Bunker  Hill — but  it  was  a 


64  THE  MAKERS  OF  AMERICA 

very  costly  victory.  He  had  lost  one  half  of  his  whole 
force.  A  thousand  Englishmen  lay  dead  or  dying  on 
the  slope  of  the  hill. 

The  Americans  lost  about  one  half  of  that  number. 
But  among  these  was  General  Joseph  Warren,  one  of 
the  truest  and  bravest  men  that  ever  drew  sword  on 
the  field  of  battle. 


THE  BATTLE  OF  BUNKER  HILL 

The  battle  showed  the  Americans  that  they  could  stand  against  the 
British  Regulars. 

For  the  Americans  it  was  a  great  moral  victory.  It 
gave  them  confidence  in  themselves.  It  showed  them 
that  their  raw  troops  could  stand  up  and  fight  success 
fully  against  the  British  Regulars. 

While  this  battle  was  being  fought  Washington  was 
preparing  to  take  command  of  the  American  army. 


GEORGE   WASHINGTON 


66  THE   MAKERS  OF  AMERICA 

Four  days  later  he  saddled  his  horse  and  set  out  for 
Boston.  He  had  gone  only  twenty  miles  from  home 
when  he  heard  the  news  from  Bunker  Hill.  His  quick 
question  was,  "Did  the  militia  fight?"  When  he  was 
assured  that  they  did,  he  exclaimed,  "Then  the  liberties 
of  the  country  are  safe." 

There  was  now  a  broad  gap  between  the  colonists 
and  the  Mother  Country.  Even  the  kindly  Franklin 
gave  up  all  hope  of  reconciliation.  The  next  step 
was  to  pass  a  Declaration  of  Independence  and  in 
this  way  tell  the  people  of  the  world  the  reasons  for 
breaking  away  from  the  control  of  England.  This 
was  done  by  the  Continental  Congress  in  Philadelphia 
on  July  4,  1776.  There  was  a  long  and  vigorous 
debate.  Some  opposed  the  Declaration.  People  on 
the  streets  grew  impatient.  The  old  bell  ringer  in 
the  State  House  waited  and  waited  but  the  signal  did 
not  come.  "They'll  never  do  it!  They'll  never  do  it!" 
people  began  to  mutter.  Then  finally  the  old  man  was 
told  to  Ring!  and  the  old  Liberty  Bell  pealed  out  the 
bold  tidings. 

It  seems  now  as  if  the  old  bell  was  made  for  just 
this  purpose.  Long  years  before,  when  the  king  and 
the  colonists  were  at  peace,  this  inscription  taken  from 
the  Old  Testament  had  been  placed  on  the  bell: 

Proclaim  liberty  throughout  all  the  land  unto  all  the 
inhabitants  thereof. 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  67 

The  Liberty  Bell  did  its  duty  and  the  church  bells 
and  the  cannon  took  up  the  refrain.  Bonfires  lit  up 
the  sky  all  the  way  from  Massachusetts  to  Georgia. 

The  fight  was  now  on  and  George  the  Third  was 
right  when  he  said:  "The  die  is  cast;  the  colonies 
must  either  submit  or  triumph/' 

They   had   already   made   arrangements   to   triumph. 


"THE  SPIRIT  or  '76" 

Several  great  painters  have  represented  the  Spirit  of  '76  on  canvas. 
Here  the  Revolutionary  soldier  is  going  out  to  fight. 

On  June  15,  two  days  before  the  battle  of  Bunker  Hill, 
the  Continental  Congress  had  chosen  George  Washing 
ton  Commander-in-chief  of  the  American  army.  Wash 
ington  left  the  room  in  haste  as  soon  as  his  name  was 


68  THE  MAKERS  OF  AMERICA 

mentioned  by  John  Adams.  He  returned  the  next  day, 
however,  and  said  that  since  he  was  called,  he  would 
try  to  do  his  duty.  He  also  said  that  he  would  accept 
no  pay  aside  from  his  expenses. 

Washington  rode  on  toward  his  post  of  duty.  Early 
in  July  he  arrived  at  Cambridge,  near  Boston,  and 
hastily  reviewed  that  motley  crowd  called  the  Conti 
nental  Army.  As  he  sat  on  horseback  under  the 
famous  elm  at  Cambridge  his  appearance  was  de 
scribed  as  "truly  noble  and  majestic."  Even  a  London 
paper  remarked:  " There  is  not  a  king  in  Europe  but 
would  look  like  a  house  servant  by  his  side." 

Washington  was  soon  in  serious  business  up  to  his 
ears.  He  took  his  army  from  Boston  to  defend  New 
York  and  was  defeated  by  General  Howe  in  the  Battle 
of  Long  Island.  He  saved  his  men  from  capture  by  the 
strategy  of  leaving  his  camp  fires  burning  while  he 
took  his  army  across  the  river  in  the  night.  Washing 
ton  was  a  master  in  covering  a  retreat.  On  several 
occasions  he  saved  his  army  from  capture  in  this  way. 
His  position  was  now  a  perilous  one  and  he  retreated 
across  New  Jersey  to  the  west  side  of  the  Delaware 
River.  The  British  pushed  after  him  hoping  to  capture 
the  American  army  "bag  and  baggage."  They  might 
possibly  have  done  so  if  they  had  not  preferred  the 
ease  and  comfort  of  winter  quarters. 

These  were  dark  days  in  the  Revolution,  but  Wash 
ington  did  not  falter.  He  knew  that  Howe  was  in  New 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON 


WASHINGTON  CROSSING  THE  DELAWARE 


70  THE  MAKERS  OF  AMERICA 

York  celebrating  Christmas.  The  Germans,  who  were 
aiding  the  British,  were  in  camp  at  Trenton,  New 
Jersey,  and  Washington  felt  that  they  would  be  off 
their  guard  on  account  of  a  small  amount  of  home 
sickness  and  a  large  amount  of  drinking.  He  thought 
this  a  good  time  for  a  bold  stroke.  He  was  not 
mistaken. 

He  determined  to  cross  the  Delaware  River  and 
strike  Trenton.  He  did  so  on  Christmas  Day,  1776. 
The  weather  was  both  cold  and  dismal.  The  river 
was  dotted  with  huge  blocks  of  floating  ice  and  the 
air  was  filled  with  a  driving  sleet.  It  seemed  a  perilous 
undertaking  to  take  an  army  across  this  angry  stream 
on  such  a  day.  One  of  Washington's  generals  told  him 
that  it  could  not  be  done.  Washington  did  not  agree 
with  him.  He  picked  out  some  expert  boatmen  from 
New  England  and  tackled  the  job.  After  ten  hours 
of  cold  and  dangerous  work,  a  large  part  of  it  under 
cover  of  the  night,  Washington  had  his  little  army  on 
the  Jersey  shore.  He  then  pushed  on  in  the  sleet  and 
cold  in  order  to  reach  Trenton,  ten  miles  away,  by  day 
break.  The  men  were  in  a  pitiable  condition.  Some 
of  them  were  marching  barefooted  in  the  snow,  leaving 
a  trail  of  blood  behind  them.  Some  of  the  men  had 
lost  their  guns  in  crossing  the  river.  The  remainder 
of  the  weapons  were  so  water-soaked  that  they  were 
almost  useless.  "We  must  depend  on  the  bayonet," 
said  Washington. 

A  sharp  attack  was  promptly  made  and  the  German 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  71 

commander,  with  seventy  men,  was  killed  and  a  thou 
sand  men  laid  down  their  arms  in  surrender. 

Washington  had  won  a  brilliant  victory  but  his 
position  was  still  very  dangerous.  There  was  a  British 
force  of  two  thousand  men  only  a  few  miles  down  the 
river.  Seeing  his  danger,  he  went  back  with  his  pris 
oners  and  spoils  and  recrossed  the  river. 

Three  days  later  he  again  crossed  over  to  the  Jersey 
side.  Lord  Cornwallis,  one  of  the  British  commanders, 
was  about  to  embark  for  England,  but  instead  of  that 
he  was  sent  to  drive  Washington  back.  He  had  laid 
plans  to  capture  him  or,  as  he  said,  to  "run  down  the 
Old  Fox."  The  two  men  exchanged  compliments  in 
the  night  with  their  big  guns,  and  Cornwallis  intended 
to  attack  early  in  the  morning.  Washington  was 
getting  ready.  All  through  the  night  his  camp  fires 
burned  brilliantly  and  the  British  sentinels  could  hear 
the  blow  of  the  spade  and  swing  of  the  pickaxe  as  the 
Americans  were  building  their  entrenchments.  When 
the  British  got  ready  to  attack,  they  found,  to  their 
great  surprise,  that  the  American  camp  was  empty. 
The  bird  had  flown;  or  rather  the  Old  Fox  had  made 
tracks  for  parts  unknown. 

As  soon  as  Cornwallis  had  time  to  look  about  him  he 
found  Washington  cutting  off  the  line  to  his  base  of 
supplies.  After  a  fight  near  Princeton,  the  British 
withdrew  to  New  York,  leaving  Washington  in  posses 
sion  of  practically  all  of  New  Jersey.  Washington's 
bold  strokes  at  Trenton  and  Princeton  had  changed  the 


72  THE  MAKERS  OF  AMERICA 

whole   face   of   the   situation   and   there   was  great   re 
joicing  in  America. 

Other  dark  days  were  yet  in  store  for  Washington. 
Howe  had  collected  a  great  army  in  the  vicinity  of 
Philadelphia  for  the  purpose  of  taking  that  important 


THE  BATTLE  OF  PRINCETON 
It  was  here  that  Washington  won  one  of  his  most  notable  victories. 

place.  He  defeated  Washington  in  two  battles  in  the 
southeastern  part  of  Pennsylvania,  and  then  entered 
the  city. 

Soon  after  this  Washington  went  into  winter  quar 
ters  at  Valley  Forge,  about  twenty  miles  from  Phila 
delphia.  This  was  a  terrible  winter  and  a  severe  test 
upon  the  fiber  of  Washington  and  his  men.  Washing 
ton  took  his  little  army  into  the  hills  of  Valley  Forge 


GEORGE    WASHINGTON  73 

about  the  middle  of  December,  1777,  with  no  shelter 
for  them  save  the  bleak  valleys  and  hillsides.  They  set 
to  work  at  once,  throwing  up  entrenchments  and 
building  log  huts. 

There  was  a  shortage  of  food  for  the  men,  and  many 
horses  died  on  account  of  lack  of  feed.  Clothing 
was  lacking  and  the  men  suffered  terribly  from  the 
biting  weather.  Blood  from  their  bare  feet  marked 
their  tracks  on  the  snow  and  the  frozen  ground.  In 
stead  of  sleeping  at  night  many  of  the  men  were  com 
pelled  to  sit  up  huddled  around  the  camp  fire  in  order 
to  keep  from  freezing  to  death. 

Sickness,  of  course,  gripped  the  stricken  camp.  The 
frozen  ground  was,  in  many  cases,  the  only  hospital 
bed  to  be  had.  When  he  had  been  less  than  a  week  at 
Valley  Forge  Washington  reported  about  three  thou 
sand  men  "  unfit  for  duty  because  of  their  nakedness 
in  the  bitter  winter." 

Food  was  not  particularly  scarce  but  it  was  very  hard 
to  get.  Howe's  men  in  Philadelphia  had  enough,  and 
to  spare,  while  the  Americans  at  Valley  Forge,  only  a 
few  miles  away,  were  actually  starving.  "The  Farmers 
of  eastern  Pennsylvania  closed  their  ears  to  the  groans 
of  Valley  Forge  and  brought  meat  and  flour  in  great 
abundance  to  the  British'.  .  .  at  Philadelphia." 

It  is  said  by  some  that  these  farmers  were  losing 
faith  in  the  American  cause  and  expected  the  British 
to  win  the  war.  They  wanted  to  be  on  the  winning 
side.  There  may  be  some  truth  in  this  explanation, 


74 


THE  MAKERS  OF  AMERICA 


but  it  should  be  remembered  that  the  farmer  got 
British  gold  for  the  supplies  which  he  brought  to  Phila 
delphia,  while  Washington  had  nothing  to  offer  but  the 


WASHINGTON  AND  LAFAYETTE 
They  are  directing  affairs  at  Valley  Forge. 

almost  worthless  paper  money.  The  profiteer  was 
abroad  in  the  land  and,  to  make  matters  worse,  trans 
portation  facilities  were  very  poor. 

Washington,  however,  was  not  a  man  to  stand  and 
twirl  his  thumbs  and  look  on  in  a  case  of  this  kind. 
He  "took  the  bull  by  the  horns"  and  announced  that  he 
would  hang  to  a  tree  the  first  man  whom  he  caught 
taking  provisions  to  the  British.  He  then  sent  out  men 
with  instructions  to  take  food  by  force  and  to  tell  the 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON 


75 


people  that  they  would  be  paid  for  it  at  some  future 
time. 

In  the  midst  of  all  this  suffering  there  was  some  good 
cheer.  The  men  were  drawn  into  a  closer  comradeship 
by  their  hardships.  They  made  the  best  of  a  bad  situa 
tion.  Some  of  the  officers  gave  a  scanty  dinner,  now 
and  then,  to  which  only  those  who  had  holes  in  their 
trousers  were  invited.  The  others  were  looked  upon 

as  too  aristocratic 
and  "  stuck  up  "  to 
eat  with  the  common 
people. 

Washington  had 
two  brilliant  young 
men  with  him  during 
this  winter  at  Valley 
Forge.  One  was 
Alexander  Hamilton, 
born  in  the  West  In 
dies,  and  among  the 
ablest  men  in  the 

whole  history  of  the  public  life  of  the  United  States. 
He  was  twenty-one  years  of  age  at  the  time,  and 
was  Washington's  secretary  and  intimate  personal 
friend. 

The  other  was  the  Marquis  de  Lafayette,  who  stole 
out  of  France  and  came  to  America  to  fight  in  behalf 
of  the  Colonies.  The  king  of  France  had  forbidden  his 
going.  The  young  Lafayette,  who  was  only  twenty 


OLD  FORT  AT  VALLEY  FORGE  AS  IT 
APPEARS  TODAY 


THE  MAKERS  OF  AMERICA 

years  of  age  at  the 
time,  had  a  great 
enthusiasm  for  the 
American  cause. 
"With  the  welfare  of 
America,"  he  wrote, 
"is  closely  linked  the 
welfare  of  mankind." 
He  was  made  a  Major 
General  in  the  Ameri 
can  army  before  he 
was  twenty-one  years 
old. 

There  were  some 
other  men  in  this 
little  company  at  Val 
ley  Forge  who  later 
became  famous.  Na- 
thanael  Greene,  a 
Quaker  from  Rhode 
Island,  was  one  of  the 
number.  He  was  a 
blacksmith,  who,  by 
hard  study,  made  him 
self  into  a  first-class 
soldier.  He  was  with 
Washington  at 

Trenton  and  now  gave  him  his  support  at  Valley  Forge. 

He  was  later  made  Quarter-master-general  of  the  army. 


ALEXANDER  HAMILTON 

Hamilton  was  born  in  the  West  Indies. 
He  was  making  speeches  on  Government 
when  he  was  seventeen.  He  helped  to 
make  our  Constitution  and  to  win  the 
Revolution.  He  was  killed  in  a  duel 
with  Aaron  Burr  when  47  years  of  age. 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  77 

Henry  Knox,  a  bookseller  of  Boston,  had  very  little 
military  training,  but  at  the  age  of  twenty-five  he  took 
charge  of  the  artillery  around  Boston.  He  was  now 
sharing  the  hardships  of  Vallty  Forge. 

Daniel  Morgan,  an  old  Indian  fighter,  left  his  Vir 
ginia  farm  at  the  outbreak  of  the  war  and  hurried  to 
Boston  to  join  the  army.  He  fought  valiantly  in  many 
battles,  both  before  and  after  this  time.  He,  too, 
was  with  Washington  sharing  the  glories  and  the  pri 
vations  of  Valley  Forge. 

Such  was  the  winter  that  prevailed 
Within  the  crowded,  frozen  gorge; 

Such  were  the  horrors  that  assailed 
The  patriot  band  at  Valley  Forge. 

It  was  a  midnight  storm  of  woes 

To  clear  the  sky  for  Freedom's  morn; 

And  such  must  ever  be  the  throes 
The  hour  when  Liberty  is  born. 

—  THOMAS  BUCHANAN  READ 


We  must  now  turn  back  a  little  and  follow  the  fortunes 
of  another  American  army  under  Schuyler  and  Gates  in 
eastern  New  York.  In  the  summer  of  1777  the  British 
planned  a  bold  campaign  to  cut  the  Colonies  into  two 
parts.  General  Burgoyne  with  one  British  army  was  to 
come  down  from  Canada,  and  General  Howe  with  another 
was  to  go  up  the  Hudson  from  New  York.  They  were 
to  meet  at  Albany. 


78  THE  MAKERS  OF  AMERICA 

As  it  happened,  however,  Howe's  army  was  very 
busy  about  Philadelphia  and  when  he  sent  General 
Clinton  up  the  Hudson  to  meet  Burgoyne  it  was  too 
late.  The  Americans  had  combined  against  him  in 
the  important  battle  of  Saratoga. 

As   Burgoyne   pushed   southward    General    Schuyler, 


THE  BATTLE  OF  SARATOGA 

It  was  here  that  Arnold  was  wounded  and  protected  the  German 
soldier  who  shot  him. 

who  was  in  command  of  the  American  forces,  harassed 
him  at  every  step.  Supplies  were  burned,  bridges  were 
destroyed  and  trees  were  felled  across  his  pathway,  so 
that  he  could  scarcely  make  a  mile  a  day.  He  had  to 
go  on,  however,  as  his  retreat  to  Canada  was  now  cut 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  79 

off  by  American  forces.  He  pushed  forward  to  his 
doom.  A  large  amount  of  baggage  made  his  progress 
slower  still.  It  required  thirty  wagons  to  carry  the 
belongings  of  the  general  himself.  Not  all  of  these 
things,  it  would  seem,  were  necessary  to  a  military 
campaign.  Some  of  the  packages  were  filled  with 
choice  liquors.  It  is  said  that  Burgoyne  had  champagne 
on  his  table  " almost  to  the  day  of  final  disaster." 

In  the  meantime,  there  was  no  word  from  Howe, 
and  Burgoyne  kept  wondering  why  he  did  not  come. 
Messengers  were  sent  to  find  the  cause  of  the  delay,  but 
they  never  came  back.  They  were  caught  and  hanged  as 
spies  while  trying  to  get  through  the  American  lines. 

Burgoyne's  situation  was  becoming  desperate.  The 
Americans  were  getting  him  in  a  corner.  Washington 
was  keeping  Howe  entertained  about  Philadelphia,  and 
no  help  could  be  sent  to  Burgoyne.  Finally  on  Sep 
tember  19,  in  a  battle,  usually  known  as  the  First 
Battle  of  Freeman's  Farm,  Burgoyne  tried  to  cut  his 
way  out  and  thus  save  his  army  from  defeat  and  cap 
ture.  He  failed  with  a  heavy  loss. 

In  the  meantime,  Congress  had  removed  Schuyler 
from  the  command  and  had  given  it  to  General  Gates. 
Gates  was  a  selfish  and  tricky  man  and  was  not  loyal 
to  Washington. 

Another  important  move  had  also  been  made.  Howe 
had  instructed  General  Clinton  to  go  up  the  Hudson 
and  help  Burgoyne.  Clinton  started,  but  it  was  now 
too  late. 


8o 


THE  MAKERS  OF  AMERICA 


SCENES  OF  THE  LATTER  PART  OF  THE 
REVOLUTION 

This  map  shows  the  scene  of  Burgoyne's 
surrender  at  Saratoga  and  of  Washing 
ton's  brilliant  strokes  at  Trenton  and 
Princeton.  It  also  shows  the  location 
of  Washington's  dismal  camp  at  Valley 
Forge  and  the  scene  of  the  final  triumph 
at  Yorktown. 

Burgoyne  was  in  a  trap.     He 


There  was  no  time 
to  be  lost.  Burgoyne 
now  fought  his 
Second  Battle  of 
Freeman's  Farm, 
near  Saratoga.  Here 
he  was  badly  beaten 
and  Benedict  Arnold, 
who  later  turned 
traitor  to  his  country, 
displayed  most  amaz 
ing  bravery  on  the 
American  side.  "Call 
that  man  back,"  said 
Gates,  as  Arnold 
dashed  off  on  horse 
back,  "or  he  will  do 
something  rash." 
Arnold  couldn't  hear 
the  call,  and  came 
back  only  when  the 
victory  was  won.  A 
large  part  of  this 
battle  was  fought  in 
the  dense  woods,  and 
here  the  American 
frontiersmen  were 
perfectly  at  home, 
could  neither  retreat 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  81 

nor  advance.  His  camp  was  commanded  by  American 
guns  and  he  was  not  strong  enough  to  cut  his  way  out. 
American  sharpshooters,  perched  high  in  the  trees, 
picked  off  any  Britisher  who  ventured  out  into  the  open. 
Horses  were  killed  in  the  same  way.  Sometimes  a  cap 
was  hung  out  to  draw  the  fire  of  the  riflemen.  Bullets 
riddled  it  instantly.  Food  was  scarce.  The  Indian 
allies  had  sulked  off,  and  the  German  hired  soldiers 
were  homesick  and  tired  of  the  whole  business.  Finally 
ten  days  after  the  second  battle,  Burgoyne  surrendered 
his  entire  army  to  Gates  on  October  17,  1777.  This 
battle  was  the  turning-point  of  the  Revolution,  and  a 
great  English  historian  has  called  it  one  of  the  fifteen 
decisive  battles  of  the  world. 

It  is  not  pleasant  to  relate  that  some  of  the  officers 
of  the  American  army  were  not  loyal  to  Washington. 
Arnold  betrayed  his  confidence  and  finally  •  went  over 
and  fought  for  the  British.  Gates  was  a  timid  and 
jealous  schemer.  Some  others  formed  a  conspiracy 
against  Washington  and  tried  to  depose  him  and  put 
someone  else  in  his  place.  Arnold  finally  left  America 
and  went  to  England.  It  would  have  been  well  if 
some  others  had  done  the  same  thing.  A  famous  pick 
pocket  once  wrote  a  play  to  be  acted  by  his  fellow- 
convicts  who  had  been  sent  out  of  the  country  for 
crime.  One  line  of  the  play  read  as  follows: 

True  patriots  we,  for,  be  it  understood, 
We  left  our  country  for  our  country's  good. 


82 


THE  MAKERS  OF  AMERICA 


Some  of  Washington's  enemies  might  have  been 
better  patriots  if  they  had  followed  the  example  of  the 
pickpocket  and  his  associates  at  Botany  Bay  and  left 
the  country  for  their  country's  good. 

After  the  surrender  at  Saratoga  the  British  cause 
in  America  was  doomed.  The  final  scene  in  the  great 
drama  was  enacted  at  Yorktown,  Virginia. 


WASHINGTON  AND  LAFAYETTE 
The  two  friends  here  appear  after  the  victory  at  Yorktown. 

Yorktown  is  on  the  shore  in  the  eastern  part  of  the 
state,  near  the  mouth  of  Chesapeake  Bay.  Here  Corn- 
wallis  threw  up  his  fortifications  and  settled  down. 
Without  knowing  it,  he  had  placed  himself  in  a  trap. 
Some  French  troops  joined  forces  with  Washington  at 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  83 

New  York  and  marched  south  to  cut  off  his  retreat  by 
land.  A  large  French  fleet  under  Count  de  Grasse 
suddenly  appeared  and  took  control  of  the  sea.  De 
Grasse  was  a  born  fighter.  His  men  said  that  ordi 
narily  he  was  about  six  feet  tall,  but  when  fighting  a 
battle  he  was  six  inches  taller. 

Alexander  Hamilton  was  there  and  so  was  General 
Lafayette.  In  speaking  of  Lafayette,  Cornwallis  said 
that  he  would  run  out  some  day  and  capture  "the  boy;" 
but  "the  boy,"  with  his  small  force  of  men,  succeeded 
in  keeping  out  of  his  reach. 

The  assault  began  and  the  Americans  riddled  the 
town  with  their  guns.  One  of  the  French  soldiers  later 
said  that  there  were  "big  holes  made  by  bombs,  cannon 
balls,  splinters,  barely  covered  graves,  arms  and  legs 
of  blacks  and  whites  scattered  here  and  there,  most  of 
the  houses  riddled  with  shot  and  devoid  of  window- 
panes." 

Cornwallis  thought  of  flight  but  that  seemed  hope 
less.  He  finally  surrendered  his  entire  army  of  seven 
thousand  men.  "I  thought  it  would  have  been  wanton 
and  not  human,"  he  said  later,  "to  sacrifice  the  lives 
of  this  small  body  of  gallant  soldiers." 

The  British  surrender  at  Yorktown  on  October  19, 
1781,  practically  ended  the  war.  King  George  wanted 
to  fight  on  but  Parliament  did  not  agree  with  him. 
Some  little  fighting  followed,  but  the  treaty  of  peace 
was  made  by  Franklin  and  others  in  1783.  Thus  the 
American  colonists  had  finally  won  their  independence 


84  THE  MAKERS  OF  AMERICA 

after  eight  years  of  hard  fighting,  much  of  it  under  the 
most  disheartening  conditions. 

Washington  now  returned  to  the  home  at  Mount 
Vernon  which  he  loved  so  well.  Here  he  hoped  to 
spend  the  remainder  of  his  days.  He  said:  "I  had 
rather  be  at  Mount  Vernon  with  a  friend  or  two  about 
me,  than  to  be  attended  at  the  seat  of  government  by 
the  officers  of  State  and  the  representatives  of  every 
power  in  Europe." 

His  wish  was  not  granted.  He  was  soon  called  again 
into  the  service  of  his  country.  After  the  treaty  of 
peace  was  made  things  did  not  go  well  with  the  govern 
ment.  The  form  of  government  was  not  good  and  a 
convention  was  called  in  Philadelphia  to  make  a  new 
one.  The  result  was  the  Constitution  of  the  United 
States  under  which  we  are  now  living.  Washington 
was  a  delegate  to  this  convention  from  Virginia.  Being 
the  leading  man  in  that  body,  he  was  made  the  pre 
siding  officer. 

A  little  later  the  people,  with  one  voice,  chose  him 
to  be  the  first  President  of  the  United  States.  After 
holding  this  office  for  two  terms  he  refused  to  listen  to 
proposals  for  a  third  term  and  was  finally  permitted 
to  return  to  the  beloved  shades  of  Mount  Vernon 
where  he  died  two  years  later. 

For  a  long  time  we  had  a  wrong  idea  about  Wash 
ington  as  a  boy.  A  man  named  Mason  Weems  wrote 


GEORGE   WASHINGTON  85 

a  book  about  him  and  pictured  him  as  a  goody-good 
kind  of  fellow.  He  related  stories  about  Washington's 
boyhood,  many  of  which  were  not  true.  Washington 
was  not  a  faultless  and  conceited  little  prig  with  a 
starched  collar  around  his  neck  and  curls  hanging 
down  his  back.  He  didn't  run  and  tattle  every  tune 
another  boy  offended  him.  He  fought  his  own  battles.  He 
had  a  high  temper,  but  usually  kept  it  well  under  control. 

Like  most  other  boys  he  was  always  on  tiptoe  when 
the  circus  came  around.  A  little  later  in  life  he  was 
fond  of  a  good  horse-race.  The  fox-hunt,  the  cock 
fight,  and  other  rough  frontier  sports  appealed  to  him. 
He  liked  to  roam  through  the  forests  in  search  of  big 
game  and  to  spend  the  night  in  the  open  air.  "Happy," 
said  he,  "is  the  man  who  gets  the  berth  nearest  the  fire." 
He  was  also  a  favorite  in  society  and  liked  to  dance  the 
stately  minuet. 

As  a  man  he  always  liked  good  clothes.  "He  had  a 
weakness  for  gold  lace,  silk  stockings,  and  silver  span 
gles.  His  liking  for  fine  feathers  never  quite  forsook 
him."  Unlike  his  friend  Thomas  Jefferson,  he  cared  a 
great  deal  for  dignity  and  ceremony. 

He  was  subject  to  the  same  diseases  that  other 
people  were.  "He  suffered  at  times  from  measles, 
smallpox,  malaria,  and  toothache,  and  late  in  life  he 
solemnly  put  it  on  record  that  his  false  teeth  were  a 
misfit."  Washington  himself  was  not  deceived.  He 
knew  perfectly  well  that  in  many  respects  he  was  just 
like  other  people. 


86  THE  MAKERS  OF  AMERICA 

Washington  was  a  good,  careful,  thrifty  business 
man.  He  kept  an  exact  account  of  his  expenses,  even 
to  the  cost  of  repairing  a  hairpin  for  one  of  the  women 
of  his  household. 

He  read  books  on  agriculture.  He  did  not  guess  at 
things.  He  found  that  there  were  844,800  grass  seeds 
to  the  pound,  and  from  this  he  figured  out  the  amount 
which  should  be  sown  to  the  acre. 

Washington  was  one  of  the  largest  landowners  of 
his  time.  He  was  also  one  of  the  richest  men  in  Amer 
ica.  When  he  died  he  owned  60,000  acres  of  land  and 
his  property  was  valued  at  $530,000.  In  his  will  he 
remembered  forty-one  relatives  of  his  wife  and  himself. 
He  had  no  children.  "God  left  him  childless  that  he 
might  be  the  father  of  the  Country." 

Best  of  all,  Washington  was  a  true  and  an  honest 
man.  He  always  stood  for  what  he  believed  to  be 
right.  When  the  British  put  the  tax  on  tea,  he  ban 
ished  tea  from  his  table.  When  war  was  threatened, 
he  said  he  would,  if  necessary,  raise  and  equip  out  of 
his  own  pocket  a  thousand  men  and  march  with  them 
to  Boston.  One  who  knew  him  well  said  that  he 
was  "the  honestest  man  that  ever  adorned  human 
nature." 

When  we  review  Washington's  career  from  his  boy 
hood  in  the  wilderness  to  his  final  resting  place  on  the 
bank  of  the  Potomac,  we  can  readily  see  why  it  was 
that  he  was  called:  "First  in  War,  First  in  Peace, 
First  in  the  hearts  of  his  Countrymen." 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  87 

He  died  peacefully  at  Mount  Vernon  in  1799  at  the 
age  of  sixty -seven. 

His  work  well  done,  the  leader  stepped  aside, 
Spurning  a  crown  with  more  than  kingly  pride, 
Content  to  wear  the  highest  crown  of  worth, 
While  time  endures,  First  Citizen  of  earth. 

-JAMES  J.   ROCHE 

HINTS  AND   QUESTIONS 

1.  Why  is  Washington  called   "the  Pillar  of  the  Republic"? 

2.  What  was  the  cause  of  the  "  Boston  Massacre  "? 

3.  What    were    the    "Intolerable    Acts"?     Why    were    they 

so-called? 

4.  Who  were  the  "  Minute-Men  "? 

5.  Why  was  the  capture  of  Fort  Ticonderoga  important? 

6.  Where  is  Bunker  Hill  located? 

7.  What  noted  men  were  with  Washington  at  Valley  Forge? 

8.  Why  was  Burgoyne's   surrender   called   a   "turning-point" 

in  the  war? 

9.  What  important  event  took  place  on  October  19,  1781? 

10.  How  did  Washington  and   Patrick  Henry  compare  as  busi 

ness  men? 

11.  Read  Holmes'  "Grandmother's  Story  of  Bunker-Hill  Battle." 

PRONOUNCING  LIST 

Potomac     po-to'mak 

Marquis  de  Lafayette     mar'kwis  d  La-fa-et' 

Burgoyne     ber-goin' 


CHAPTER  VI 

A   GROUP   OF  REVOLUTIONARY  HEROES 

NATHANAEL  GREENE,  THE  FIGHTING  QUAKER 

WHILE  Washington  had  a  most  difficult  task  to 
perform  he  was  not  called  upon  to  fight  the  battles 
of  the  Revolution  alone.  He  had  valiant  helpers.  One 
of  the  foremost  of  these  was  Nathanael  Greene,  The 
Fighting  Quaker. 

Greene  was  a  farmer  and  blacksmith,  born  in  Rhode 
Island,  in  1742.  He  went  to  the  country  school  for 
a  time  but  did  not  remain  there  very  long.  His  father 
was  a  plain  man  who  did  not  believe  in  very  much 
education.  He  thought  if  a  boy  could  read,  write, 
spell,  and  solve  a  few  simple  problems  in  arithmetic 
that  nothing  else  was  necessary. 

As  a  boy  Nathanael  worked  on  the  farm,  in  the  mill, 
and  in  the  blacksmith  shop.  He  also  found  time  to 
read  good  books.  He  studied  law,  joined  the  militia, 
and  became  a  careful  student  of  military  tactics. 

After  the  battle  of  Lexington,  troops  were  raised 
in  Rhode  Island  and  sent  to  join  the  Continental  army 
under  Washington  at  Cambridge.  Greene  was  in  com 
mand  of  these  troops.  Washington  saw  at  once  that 

88 


A   GROUP  OF  REVOLUTIONARY  HEROES 


89 


he  would  make  a  good  soldier,  and  gave  him  an  im 
portant  post.  Washington's  judgment  was  correct. 
Greene  turned  out  to  be  "the  best  man  in  the  Ameri 
can  army  next  to  Washington  himself." 

Greene  was  in  favor,  at  an  early  time,  of  the  inde 
pendence  of  the  colonies,  and 
had  written  to  the  Rhode 
Island  men  in  Congress,  ask 
ing  them  to  vote  for  the 
Declaration.  He  was  also  in 
the  battle  of  Bunker  Hill  and 
was  able  to  give  valuable 
advice  as  a  result  of  his 
military  studies. 

At  Trenton  he  commanded 
one  wing  of  Washington's 
army.  A  little  later,  by  great 
skill,  he  saved  the  American 


NATHANAEL  GREENE 


c  ,.  Greene  was  Washington's  right- 

army  from  destruction  on  the     hand  man  in  the  Revolution. 

Brandywine  Creek.    He  also    H^  could  do  a  §reat  deal  with 

a  few  men.     He  was  kind  and 
tOUght    bravely    at     German-    generous  to  his  enemies. 

town,  when,  in  the  dense  fog,  . 

one  part  of  the  American  army  fired  upon  another  part. 
These  two  battles  were  fought  in  south-eastern  Pennsyl 
vania,  about  the  time  that  Burgoyne  was  surrendering 
to  Gates  at  Saratoga. 

In  the  following  year  he  accepted  the  office  of  Quar 
termaster-general  of  the  army  with  the  understanding 
that  he  would  still  have  the  right  to  command  his 


90  THE  MAKERS  OF  AMERICA 

troops  in  action.  Greene  was  a  real  fighting  man. 
In  his  new  office  it  was  his  duty  to  provide  and  dis 
tribute  supplies  for  the  army.  This  work  had  not 
been  well  done,  and  the  experience  of  Washington's 
men  at  Valley  Forge  was  disastrous  on  this  account. 
General  Greene  did  good  work  at  his  new  post. 

On  account  of  his  knowledge  of  military  law  Greene 
was  made  head  of  the  court  which  passed  upon  the 
case  of  Major  John  Andre.  A  recent  writer  has  re 
marked  that  "no  soldier  in  America  was  better  versed 
in  the  military  art  in  all  its  details  than  Greene." 

Perhaps  it  would  be  well  to  say  a  few  words  about 
the  interesting  career  of  John  Andre.  We  have  already 
made  the  acquaintance  of  Benedict  Arnold.  Arnold 
was  a  Connecticut  bookseller,  and  enlisted  early  in  the 
Revolution.  He  performed  dazzling  feats  of  bravery 
at  Quebec,  Saratoga,  and  other  places.  He  finally 
came  to  the  conclusion  that  Congress  hadn't  treated 
him  fairly.  He  wished  to  be  promoted  more  rapidly 
than  he  was.  In  a  dark  moment  he  made  up  his 
mind  to  obtain  command  of  West  Point  on  the  Hudson 
River  and  then  surrender  himself  and  the  fortress  to 
the  British. 

Washington,  not  suspecting  his  plans,  gave  him  the 
command.  He  then  began  his  correspondence  with 
the  British  and  General  Clinton  appointed  Major 
John  Andre,  a  bright  young  officer,  to  talk  the  matter 
over  with  Arnold.  Andre  assumed  the  name  of  "John 


A   GROUP  OF  REVOLUTIONARY  HEROES  91 

Anderson "  and  met  Arnold  in  the  woods  at  night  a 
short  distance  below  West  Point,  on  the  west  side  of 
the  river.  The  meeting  place  was  a  dark  and  secluded 
spot  among  the  fir  trees  --  "  the  haunt  of  the  owl  and 
whippoorwill." 

On  his  way  back  to  the  British  army  in  New  York 
Andre  was  captured  near  Tarrytown  —  a  place  since 
made  famous  by  Washington  Irving  in  his  stories  of 
Rip  Van  Winkle  and  other  characters. 

The  court  over  '  which.  General  Greene  presided 
decided  that  Andre  was  a  spy  and,  according  to  the 
law  of  nations,  should  be  put  to  death.  He  was  hanged 
on  October  2,  1780,  and  his  ashes  were  later  taken  to 
London  for  burial.  Arnold  escaped  to  England  and 
lived  the  dismal  life  of  a  traitor.  He  did  not  accomplish 
much  in  the  British  army  as  he  was  never  trusted  there. 

It  was  in  the  South,  however,  and  rather  late  in 
the  war,  that  Greene  did  his  best  work.  When  the  tide 
of  war  was  going  against  the  British  they  made  a 
strong  attempt  to  save  Georgia  and  the  two  Carolinas. 
Cornwallis  was  in  command  in  the  South.  This  was 
about  a  year  before  his  surrender  at  Yorktown.  Gen 
eral  Gates  had  command  of  the  American  army  and 
things  were  not  going  very  well  for  the  American  cause. 
So,  about  two  weeks  after  the  execution  of  Andre,  Greene 
was  appointed  to  take  the  place  of  Gates.  Cornwallis 
soon  saw  that  he  was  facing  a  very  different  kind  of 
man.  Greene  was  far  more  able  and  energetic. 


THE  MAKERS  OF  AMERICA 


Greene  went  south  and  took  command  of  the  Ameri 
can  army  early  in  December.  He  soon  put  things  in 
righting  shape.  In  doing  this  he  was  assisted  by  several 
notable  leaders.  One  of  these  was  Daniel  Morgan,  the 
famous  fighter  from  Virginia,  whom  we  have  already 

met.  Morgan  took 
charge  of  the  west 
ern  part  of  the 
American  army  and 
defeated  the  British 
in  the  battle  of  Cow- 
pens,  in  the  north 
ern  part  of  South 
Carolina,  about  the 
middle  of  January. 
Greene  also  set 
his  army  in  motion 
and,  joining  hands 
with  Morgan  after 
the  battle  of  Cow- 
pens,  started  across 
North  Carolina  to 
wards  Virginia.  A 
noted  historian  has  called  this  march  "one  of  the  most 
dramatic  retreats  in  military  annals." 

Cornwallis  started  after  him  in  hot  pursuit.  Before 
beginning  the  race,  he  destroyed  large  quantities  of 
supplies  and  burned  his  heavy  baggage  so  that  he 
might  march  rapidly.  It  was  a  merry  chase.  The 


THE  REVOLUTIONARY  WAR  IN  THE 

SOUTH 

Greene  and  Cornwallis  raced  across 
North  Carolina  from  Cowpens  to  the 
River  Dan.  Marion's  men  were  en 
camped  on  the  Big  Pedee  River  and 
Andrew  Jackson  fought  at  Hanging 
Rock. 


A   GROUP  OF  REVOLUTIONARY  HEROES  93 

two  armies  sped  on  in  a  northeasterly  direction  across 
the  central  part  of  North  Carolina.  Sometimes  they 
were  so  close  together  that  they  seemed  to  be  one  army 
rather  than  two. 

If  you  will  look  at  the  map  you  will  notice  that 
several  rivers  had  to  be  crossed  on  this  march.  These 
streams  seemed  to  be  as  friendly  to  the  Americans  as 
the  Red  Sea  was  to  the  Hebrews  in  the  time  of  Moses. 
A  series  of  heavy  rains  came  on  and  the  Americans 
were  fortunate  enough,  in  each  case,  to  get  across  the 
stream  before  high  water.  By  the  time  the  British 
came  up  the  streams  were  swollen  and  their  progress 
was  delayed.  The  rivers  in  their  courses  certainly 
fought  on  the  side  of  the  Americans  in  this  race. 

Finally  the  Americans  reached  the  River  Dan  at 
the  boundary  line  between  North  Carolina  and  Vir 
ginia.  Here  they  crossed  over  into  Virginia.  A  short 
time  later  Cornwallis  appeared  in  sight  but  the  river 
was  then  a  raging  torrent  and  he  could  not  cross.  Here 
he  gave  up  the  chase,  turned  back,  and  went  into  camp 
a  few  miles  to  the  south. 

Greene  now  had  time  to  look  around  him.  He  gath 
ered  up  some  recruits,  recrossed  the  Dan  and  sud 
denly  appeared  with  his  whole  force  at  Guilford  Court 
House  in  the  interior  of  North  Carolina.  Here  he 
took  his  stand.  Cornwallis  also  appeared  at  this  place 
after  a  tiresome  and  foodless  march  and  then  was 
fought  "one  of  the  severest  battles  in  modern  times.'7 
Cornwallis  claimed  a  victory,  but  another  such  victory 
"would  have  ruined  his  army  beyond  repair." 


94  THE  MAKERS  OF  AMERICA 

The  whole  campaign  in  the  South  was  a  very  peculiar 
one.  The  British  won  some  victories,  but  after  each 
victory  they  found  themselves  in  danger  and  were  com 
pelled  to  move  on.  This  was  due  to  strategy  rather 

than  strength  on  the 
part  of  Greene. 
Greene  excelled  in 
dividing  his  oppo 
nents,  in  enticing  them 
off  on  long  marches, 
and  in  tiring  them  out. 
He  had  studied  tactics 
of  this  kind  long  be 
fore  the  war  began. 
He  would  undoubtedly 
have  made  a  good 
quarter-back  on  the 
football  field.  Finally 
Cornwallis,  tired  out 
and  disgusted,  left  the 
far  South  and  went 
northward  to  his 
doom  at  Yorktown. 
General  Greene  had  accomplished  his  purpose.  "All 
the  boasted  fabric  of  royal  government  in  the  South 
had  come  down  with  a  crash  and  the  Tories  who  had 
supported  it  were  having  evil  days." 

At  the  close  of  the  war  Greene  returned  to  Rhode 
Island,  his  native  state,  and  was  received  with  great 


NEWS  FROM   YORKTOWX 

A  rider  on  the  back  of  a  swift  horse 
took  the  place  of  the  telegraph  and  the 
telephone  in  those  days. 


A   GROUP  OF  REVOLUTIONARY  HEROES  95 

honor.  The  "literary  blacksmith"  found  himself  fa 
mous.  Congress  struck  a  gold  medal  in  his  honor  and 
gave  him  two  field  guns. 

The  far  South,  which  he  had  liberated,  also  showed 
its  gratitude.  South  Carolina 
gave  him  a  large  landed  estate 
which  he  sold  to  pay  bills  for 
the  supplies  of  his  army  in  the 
South.  Georgia  also  gave 
him  a  beautiful  plantation  a 
few  miles  up  the  river  from 
Savannah.  He  made  his 
home  at  this  place  in  the  fall 
of  1785  and  died  of  sunstroke 
in  the  following  summer. 

Xathanael  Greene  has  been 
highly  honored  in  his  native 
state,  in  the  far  south,  and  in 
the  City  of  Washington. 
Rhode  Island  has  placed  a 
bronze  statue  of  him  in  the 
National  Capital,  and  he  and 
Roger  Williams  represent 
that  state  in  the  National 
Hall  of  Statuary  in  the 

Capitol  building.  There  is  also  a  monument  in  his  honor 
in  the  City  of  Savannah. 

One  of  the  pleasantest  things  to  read  about,  however, 
is  the  intimate  friendship  which  existed  between  Wash- 


XATHAXAEL  GREENE 

This  statue  is  in  Statuary  Hall 
in  the  National  Capitol  at 
Washington,  D.  C. 


96  THE  MAKERS  OF  AMERICA 

ington  and  Nathanael  Greene.  Washington  always  had 
the  utmost  confidence  in  Greene  as  a  man  and  as  a 
soldier.  On  the  other  hand,  Greene  respected  and  loved 
his  great  chief.  When  Greene  died  and  it  came  to 
Washington's  notice  that  his  family  was  without  means 
he  wrote  to  Mrs.  Greene  and  told  her  that  if  she  would 
entrust  her  son,  George  Washington  Greene,  to  his 
care  he  would  "give  him  as  good  an  education  as  this 
country  will  afford. " 

DANIEL  MORGAN,  A  DIAMOND  IN  THE  ROUGH 

Daniel  Morgan  was  a  big,  rough,  two-fisted  fighter. 
He  was  a  member  of  a  Welsh  family  and  was  born 
in  New  Jersey,  but  early  in  life  he  moved  to  Virginia, 
While  still  a  boy  in  his  teens  he  enlisted  for  the  old 
French  War  and  became  a  wagon  driver  in  General 
Braddock's  Army.  Here  he  came  into  close  contact 
with  the  British  Army  officers.  He  didn't  like  them. 
One  of  them  insulted  him  and  he  promptly  knocked 
him  down.  Morgan  got  five  hundred  lashes  for  the 
offense,  but  the  officer  later  made  a  public  apology  for 
the  insult. 

Morgan  was  a  giant  in  size  and  strength  and  his 
power  of  endurance  was  almost  beyond  belief.  He  had 
almost  no  education,  but  was  a  man  of  good  intelligence 
and  was  loyal  to  the  core.  He  was  a  natural  leader  of 
men  and  well  fitted  for  the  wild  campaigns  of  the 
backwoods. 

He  was  a  match  for  the  red  man  in  skill  and  strategy, 


A   GROUP  OF  REVOLUTIONARY  HEROES  97 

and    more     than     a 
match    for    him     in 
strength  and  daring. 
On  one    occasion  he 
and    his    men    were 
engaged  in    a    fierce 
forest  fight  with  the 
Indians    and    things 
were     going    against 
them.     Nearly  all  of 
his    men   had    fallen 
and   Morgan  himself 
had  been  shot  through 
the    neck.      He    was 
certain  that  he   was 
about  to  die  but  was 
determined,  as  he  said, 
"not  to    leave   his 
scalp  in  the  hands  of  a 
dirty  Indian."    Lean 
ing  forward,  he  put 
his  arms  around  the 
neck  of  his  horse  and 
dashed  away  through 
the  wilderness  until, 
finally,  his  last  pur 
suer  threw  his  tomahawk  at  him  and  turned  back  in 
disgust. 
After  the  old  French  War  was  over,  Morgan  went 


DANIEL  MORGAN 

Daniel  Morgan  in  the  garb  of  a  back 
woodsman  ready  to  fight  the  Indians 
or  the  British.  He  was  an  expert  with 
the  rifle. 


g8  THE  MAKERS  OF  AMERICA 

to  the  bad  for  a  short  time.  He  became  a  saloon 
fighter,  gambler,  and  a  hard  drinker.  However,  he 
reformed,  became  the  owner  of  some  property,  and 
was  all  ready  for  business  when  the  Revolution 
broke  out. 

You  will  remember  that  immediately  after  the  battle 
of  Bunker  Hill,  Washington  went  to  Cambridge,  near 
Boston,  and  took  charge  of  the  American  army.  A 
few  days  later  old  rough-and-ready  Daniel  Morgan 
reported  for  duty  with  his  famous  company  of  sharp 
shooters.  It  was  said  that  any  one  of  these  back 
woodsmen,  while  marching  at  a  double  quick  pace, 
could  split  a  squirrel  with  a  bullet  from  his  rifle,  at  a 
distance  of  three  hundred  yards. 


While  at  Cambridge  Morgan  fell  in  with  Benedict 
Arnold  and  the  two  men  were  side  by  side  in  some  of 
the  most  brilliant  feats  of  the  war.  In  the  first  year 
of  the  Revolution  the  Americans  determined  to  invade 
Canada.  Benedict  Arnold  was  in  charge  of  the  ex 
pedition,  and  Daniel  Morgan  was  one  of  his  companions. 
The  men  had  a  terrible  time  in  getting  to  Canada 
through  dense  forests,  tangled  vines,  and  northern 
snows.  Sometimes  they  had  to  wade  through  bogs 
with  their  worn-out  shoes.  Again  they  forced  their 
way  through  thorny  bushes  and  lost  parts  of  their 
clothing  in  so  doing.  They  were  short  of  food,  and 
when  wild  game  gave  out  they  ate  a  number  of  their 


A   GROUP  OF  REVOLUTIONARY  HEROES  99 

dogs.      "My    men/'    said    Arnold,    "were    in    want    of 
everything  except  stout  hearts." 

Finally  the  armies  arrived  at  the  frowning  walls 
of  Quebec  —  the  most  strongly  fortified  city  in  America. 
At  two  o'clock  on  the  morning  of  New  Year's  Day,  1776, 
"in  a  blinding  snowstorm,"  they  began  the  attack. 
Arnold  was  carried  from  the  field  in  great  agony  drag 
ging  a  broken  leg  behind  him.  Morgan  stepped  in  and 
filled  the  gap  and,  with  the  aid  of  his  Virginia  riflemen, 
forced  his  way  into  the  town  only  to  be  taken  prisoner. 
He  was  discharged,  however,  about  seven  months  later. 

You  will  remember  that  the  Americans  caught  Bur- 
goyne  in  a  trap  and  defeated  him  in  the  Second  Battle 
of  Freeman's  Farm  in  the  fall  of  1777.  Arnold  was 
there  and  so  was  Morgan.  Morgan  was  on  the  recep 
tion  committee  and  made  a  furious  attack  on  the 
British  just  as  soon  as  they  appeared  in  view.  Arnold 
had  no  command  but  he  waded  in  just  the  same  and 
charged  the  British  with  "mad  fury."  In  the  heat  of 
the  battle  a  wounded  German  soldier,  lying  on  the 
ground,  shot  at  Arnold,  killed  his  horse  and  broke  the 
General's  leg  above  the  knee.  An  American  soldier, 
upon  seeing  this,  ran  up  and  was  about  to  pin  the 
wounded  German  to  the  ground  with  his  bayonet  when 
Arnold  exclaimed,  "For  God's  sake,  don't  hurt  him; 
he's  a  fine  fellow!"  How  much  better  it  would  have 
been  for  Arnold's  reputation  if  he  had  died  immediately 
after  speaking  those  words! 


100 


THE  MAKERS  OF  AMERICA 


We  have  already  noticed  that  General  Nathanael 
Greene  went  to  North  Carolina  towards  the  close  of 
the  war  and  took  command  of  the  American  army  in 
the  South.  When  he  arrived  there  he  found  old  Daniel 
Morgan,  "a  host  in  himself,"  ready  to  help  him. 

Morgan  was  given  charge  of  one  part  of  the  army 
and  was  to  operate  against  General  Tarleton,  a  brave 


SKIRMISH  IN  THE  BATTLE  or  COWPENS 

and  skillful  soldier.  As  Tarleton  approached,  Morgan 
retreated  in  order  to  find  a  battle  ground  suited  to 
his  liking.  He  chose  a  large  cattle  pasture,  known  as  Cow- 
pens,  and  drew  up  his  army  with  its  back  to  the  Broad 
River.  He  did  this,  he  said,  so  that  his  raw  militia,  not 
being  able  to  run  away,  would  be  compelled  to  fight. 

On  the   morning   of  January  17,  1781,  Tarleton  ap 
peared.      His   men   were   wet,    tired,    and   muddy   but 


A   GROUP  OF  REVOLUTIONARY  HEROES  101 

he  struck  the  American  line  at  sunrise  without  delay. 
The  British  were  confused  by  Morgan's  peculiar  tactics 
and  his  unusual  military  formations.  They  were  com 
pletely  routed  and  lost  heavily  in  killed,  wounded, 
field  guns,  and  small  arms.  "Their  loss  was  about  equal 
to  the  whole  American  force  engaged."  The  Americans 
had  only  twelve  men  killed. 

From  the  standpoint  of  military  tactics  Cowpens  is 
said  to  have  been  "the  most  brilliant  battle  of  the 
War  for  Independence."  Morgan  was  voted  the  thanks 
of  Congress  and  was  given  a  gold  medal  for  this  victory. 

A  few  months  later,  the  Revolution  was  practically 
over.  Morgan  then  went  back  to  his  old  home  in  Vir 
ginia  and  was  a  patriot  in  peace  as  well  as  in  war.  He 
served  two  terms  in  Congress  and  ended  his  stormy 
career  in  1802  at  the  age  of  sixty-six. 


FRANCIS  MARION,  "THE  SWAMP  Fox" 

Our  band  is  few,  but  true  and  tried, 

Our  leader  frank  and  bold; 
The  British  soldier  trembles 

When  Marion's  name  is  told. 
Our  fortress  is  the  good  greenwood, 

Our  tent  the  cypress- tree; 
We  know  the  forest  round  us 

As  seamen  know  the  sea. 
We  know  its  walls  of  thorny  vines, 

Its  glades  of  reedy  grass, 
Its  safe  and  silent  islands 

Within  the  dark  morass.  —  BRYANT 


102  THE  MAKERS  OF  AMERICA 

The  war  in  the  South  was  made  illustrious  by  still 
another  great  name  —  that  of  General  Francis  Marion, 
The  Swamp  Fox,  of  South  Carolina.  Marion,  unlike 
Morgan,  was  a  small  and  modest  man.  He  had  only 
a  few  men  under  his  command  —  sometimes  less  than 
twenty  and  rarely  more  than  seventy.  These  men 
were  poorly  equipped.  At  times  they  fought  with 
swords  made  from  old  saws  at  the  crossroads  black 
smith  shop,  and  again  they  melted  spoons  and  cups 
in  order  to  get  material  for  their  bullets. 

These  men  were  apparently  just  as  much  at  home 
in  their  native  swamps  and  jungles  as  the  rabbits  were 
in  the  thickets  or  the  rooks  and  crows  in  the  tree  tops. 

With  merry  songs  we  mock  the  wind 

That  in  the  pine-top  grieves, 
And  slumber  long  and  sweetly 

On  beds  of  oaken  leaves. 

They  sprang  from  their  lair  in  the  jungle  where 
Lynch's  Creek  flows  into  the  big  Pedee,  struck  the 
enemy  a  stinging  blow  and  retreated  almost  before 
he  knew  what  was  going  on. 

A  moment  in  the  British  camp  - 

A  moment  —  and  away, 
Back  to  the  pathless  forest 

Before  the  peep  of  day. 

Marion's  men  enjoyed  to  the  utmost  these  midnight 
marches,  sudden  surprises,  and  desperate  hand  to  hand 
combats. 


A   GROUP  OF  REVOLUTIONARY  HEROES  103 

Well  knows  the  fair  and  friendly  moon 

The  band  that  Marion  leads  — 
The  glitter  of  their  rifles, 

The  scampering  of  their  steeds. 
'Tis  life  to  guide  the  fiery  barb 

Across  the  moonlight  plain; 
'Tis  life  to  feel  the  night-wind 

That  lifts  his  tossing  mane. 

Marion  was  born  in  South  Carolina  one  week  after 
the  birth  of  George  Washington  in  Virginia.  His 
family  belonged  to  that  noble  band  of  French  people 
who  had  been  driven  from  their  native  land  by  the 
tyranny  of  King  Louis  the  Fourteenth.  They  were 
Huguenots  and  might  well  be  called,  "the  French  Pil 
grim  Fathers."  They  were  good  citizens  and  had  fight 
ing  blood  in  their  veins. 

Marion's  father  was  a  planter  or  farmer  on  the 
Atlantic  coast  near  Georgetown,  and  the  boy  worked 
on  the  home  place  until  called  away  to  fight  the 
Cherokee  Indians. 

When  the  Revolutionary  War  broke  out  Marion,  of 
course,  offered  his  services  and  was  appointed  captain 
of  some  local  troops.  He  did  not  enter  upon  his  whirl 
wind  career,  however,  until  the  year  before  the  battle 
of  Yorktown  —  and  at  that  time  he  had  only  sixteen 
men  under  his  command. 

He  then  proceeded  to  make  life  miserable  for  Corn- 
wallis.  He  would  dart  out  and  strike  and  then  retreat. 
One  of  his  exploits  of  this  kind  was  at  Nelson's  Ferry 


IO4 


THE  MAKERS  OF  AMERICA 


in  South  Carolina.  Nelson's  Ferry  is  in  the  eastern 
part  of  the  state  where  one  of  the  main  wagon  roads 
leading  to  Charleston  crosses  the  Santee  River.  A 
company  of  British  soldiers  was  approaching  the  Ferry 

when  Marion  and  a 
few  followers  darted 
out  from  nowhere  in 
particular,  captured 
twenty-six  of  them, 
liberated  one  hundred 
and  fifty  American 
prisoners,  and  de 
parted  without  losing 
a  single  man. 

Exploits  like  that 
at  Nelson's  Ferry 
were  repeated  over 
and  over  again. 
Marion  had  now 
established  himself  in 
his  famous  camp  on 
the  Pedee  River  and 
could  defy  the  forces 
of  the  great  Corn- 
wallis.  This  camp  was  described  as  "a  most  secluded 
spot  .  .  .  covered  with  forest  trees  and  abounding  with 
game."  Marion  felt  very  much  at  home  in  such  a  place  as 
this.  He  knew  the  swamp  paths  but  the  British  didn't. 
Neither  was  he  afraid  of  the  gaunt  wolf  or  the  rattlesnake. 


FRANCIS  MARION 

This  is  the  way  he  dashed  through  the 
forests  and  swamps  of  the  South.  Read 
the  "Song  of  Marion's  Men"  by  William 
Cullen  Bryant. 


A   GROUP  OF  REVOLUTIONARY  HEROES  105 

Cornwallis,  at  length,  became  very  angry  and  sent 
General  Tarleton  in  search  of  Marion.  "I  sincerely 
hope/7  he  said,  "you  will  get  at  Mr.  Marion."  "Mr. 


GENERAL  MARION  AND  A  BRITISH  OFFICER 
General  Marion  and  his  guest  had  a  meal  consisting  of  sweet 
potatoes.  The  British  officer  ate  almost  nothing,  while  Marion  de 
clared  it  a  very  good  meal.  When  the  officer  returned  to  his  camp 
he  said  that  men  who  were  serving  without  pay  and  almost  destitute 
of  food  and  clothing  could  not  be  conquered. 

Marion,"  however,  proved  to  be  very  hard  to  get. 
Tarleton  scoured  the  country  from  Camden  to  Nelson's 
Ferry,  burning  houses  and  crops  as  he  went.  Along 
his  line  of  march  he  left  homeless  women  and  children 


io6  THE  MAKERS  OF  AMERICA 

huddled  around  bonfires  in  the  open  air  of  the  chill 
November  nights.  But  he  did  not  "get  at  Mr.  Marion/' 

Marion,  on  the  contrary,  in  all  his  raids,  was  humane 
and  even  chivalrous.  At  a  later  time  he  was  able  to 
say,  "  There  is  not  one  house  burned  by  my  orders  or 
by  any  of  my  people.  It  is  what  I  detest,  to  distress 
poor  women  and  children." 

Tarleton  also  flogged  people  in  an  attempt  to  make  them 
tell  him  where  Marion's  camp  was  located.  He  didn't 
succeed.  The  people  were  loyal  to  the  great  commander. 

The  old  "Swamp  Fox"  was  living  up  to  his  name 
and  was  very  hard  to  get  sight  of,  although  he  did  not 
remain  in  hiding  all  of  the  time.  On  one  occasion  he 
and  his  men  "actually  galloped  into  Georgetown  and 
captured  the  commander  of  that  post."  And  they  also 
galloped  back  again  in  safety  to  their  den  in  the  forest. 

Marion  stuck  to  his  task  and  continued  to  help 
Greene  in  his  campaign  against  the  British  in  the  South. 
Only  a  month  before  the  surrender  at  Yorktown,  in 
the  battle  of  Eutaw  Springs,  Marion  commanded  the 
right  wing  of  Greene's  army. 

After  the  war  was  over  he  married  a  French  woman, 
a  member  of  a  wealthy  family,  and  settled  down  in  his 
native  state.  He  built  a  beautiful  house  on  the  Santee 
River,  not  far  from  Nelson's  Ferry,  the  scene  of  one  of 
his  most  daring  raids.  The  Marion  home,  presided  over 
by  his  young  and  charming  bride,  became  famous  for 
miles  around  on  account  of  its  most  generous  hos 
pitality.  Here  he  died  at  the  age  of  sixty-three. 


A   GROUP  OF  REVOLUTIONARY  HEROES 


107 


Of  all  the  picturesque  characters  of  our  Revolutionary  period, 
there  is  perhaps  no  one  who,  in  the  memory  of  the  people,  is 
so  closely  associated  with  romantic  adventure  as  Francis  Marion. 

-  JOHN  FISKE 


THOMAS  SUMTER,   "THE  SOUTH  CAROLINA  GAMECOCK" 

We  should  not  leave  the  Revolutionary  War  in  the 
South  without  a  few  words  about  Thomas  Sumter, 
whom  the  British  called  "  The 
South  Carolina  Gamecock." 
Sumter  was  a  brilliant  but 
an  irregular  sort  of  fighter, 
somewhat  resembling  Daniel 
Morgan  and  Francis  Marion. 
Cornwallis  called  him  "the 
greatest  plague  in  this 
country,"  and  said,  "but  for 
Sumter  and  Marion,  South 
Carolina  would  be  at  peace." 

Sumter  was  a  native  of 
Virginia  and  was  with  General 
Braddock  when  he  went  down 
to  defeat  in  the  Valley  of  the 
Monongahela.  At  the  out- 


THOMAS  SUMTER 

Sumter,  "the  South  Carolina 
Gamecock/'  was  born  in  Vir 
ginia  in  1734.  He  was  with 

break   of  the    Revolutionary     Braddock  at  the  time  of  his 

J       famous  defeat,  but  survived  to 
War  he  was  again  on  duty     fight  in  t*he  Revolution. 

as  the  commander  of  a  com 
pany  of  South  Carolina  rifle 
men.  Later  like  Marion  he  "hid  in  the  swamps  of  the 


He 

was    a    dashing    fighter     and 
pestered  the  British  terribly. 


io8  THE  MAKERS  OF  AMERICA 

Santee  and  struck  out  at  the  British."  He  defeated  them 
in  the  Battle  of  Hanging  Rock  which  was  fought  not  far 
from  the  scene  of  the  battle  of  Cowpens  in  South 
Carolina. 

He  beat  them  back!    beneath  the  flame 

Of  valor  quailing,  or  the  shock! 
And  carved,  at  last,  a  hero's  name 

Upon  the  glorious  Hanging  Rock. 

It  was  at  Hanging  Rock  that  Andrew  Jackson,  who 
later  became  President  of  the  United  States,  fought  his 
first  battle.  He  was  an  orphan  boy,  only  thirteen  years 
of  age  at  the  time,  but  he  put  up  a  good  fight. 

Sumter  lived  on  for  many  years  after  the  war  and 
represented  his  state  in  both  Houses  of  Congress.  He 
was  also  our  Minister  to  Brazil  for  a  short  time.  He 
will  always  be  remembered,  however,  as  an  expert  in 
that  wild  kind  of  warfare  which  did  so  much  to  win 
Independence  for  the  United  States.  In  this  kind  of 
fighting  he  was  second  only  to  General  Francis 
Marion. 

Unlike  Marion,  he  was  a  tall  man  of  powerful  build. 
He  lived  to  be  ninety-eight  years  old  and  died  at  South 
Mount,  not  far  from  that  Hanging  Rock  upon  which  he 
had  carved  his  name. 

NATHAN  HALE,  THE  BOY  PATRIOT 

Before  taking  leave  of  this  brilliant  group  of  Revolu 
tionary  heroes  let  us  pause  for  a  moment  and  lay  a  rose 


A   GROUP  OF  REVOLUTIONARY  HEROES  109 

upon  the  grave  of  Nathan  Hale,  77/6  Boy  Patriot. 
Hale's  career  was  not  a  long  one  —  he  died  at  twenty- 
one  —  but  it  was  exceedingly  important  to  his  country. 
Nathan  Hale  was  born  in  Connecticut  and  was  grad 
uated  from  Yale  College  at  the  age  of  eighteen.  He 


NATHAN  HALE  IN  DISGUISE 

He  is  going  about  the  British  camp  seeking  information  for  the  use 
of  Washington. 

began  his  life  work  as  a  school  teacher,  but  after  the 
battle  of  Lexington  he  responded  to  his  country's  call. 
He  entered  active  military  service  at  once  and  soon 
became  a  captain. 

He  was  in  New  York  with  Washington  in  1776  when 
the  commander-in-chief  wanted  some  information  in  re 
gard  to  the  British  Army.  Hale  volunteered  to  enter 


no 


THE  MAKERS  OF  AMERICA 


the  British  camp  and  obtain  this  information.  After 
receiving  his  instructions  from  Washington  he  set  out 
upon  his  perilous  task.  He  entered  the  enemy's  camp 
on  Long  Island  disguised  as  a  young  farmer  —  some 
say  as  a  Dutch  school  teacher  —  and  proceeded  to  get 


THE  EXECUTION  or  NATHAN  HALE 


the  information  which  Washington  wanted.  He  was 
very  thorough  and  painstaking  about  his  task.  He 
went  about  making  close  observations.  He  also  made 
sketches  and  wrote  down  notes  in  .regard  to  what  he 
saw. 

Things  were  going  beautifully  with  him  until,  in  an 


GROUP  OF  REVOLUTIONARY  HEROES  in 

evil  moment,  a  relative  saw  and  recognized  him.  This 
relative  was  a  Tory  and  he  hastened  to  the  British 
officers  and  told  them  what  he  had  seen. 

The  young  Hale  was  taken  to  the  headquarters  of 
General  Howe  in  one  of  the  old  mansions  and  was  later 
locked  up  in  the  greenhouse  for  the  night.  The  next 
day  he  told  his  captors  what  his  name  was  and  why  he 
came  into  the  British  camp.  It  was  really  not  necessary 
for  him  to  do  this  as  the  papers  found  upon  his  person 
told  the  entire  story. 

He  was  hanged  as  a  spy  on  the  following  day  with 
out  any  trial  whatever.  His  execution  was  carried  out 
in  a  most  heartless  and  brutal  way.  He  was  not  per 
mitted  to  have  the  services  of  a  minister  and  even  a 
copy  of  the  Bible  was  denied  him.  He  was  permitted 
to  write  letters  of  farewell  to  his  mother,  sisters,  and 
sweetheart,  but  even  these  were  heartlessly  destroyed 
before  his  eyes. 

Finally  the  executioner  asked  him,  when  his  last  mo 
ment  had  arrived,  if  he  had  anything  which  he  wished 
to  say.  His  reply  was,  "I  only  regret  that  I  have  but 
one  life  to  lose  for  my  country." 

HINTS  AND   QUESTIONS 

1.  What  General  ranked  next   to  Washington  in    the   Revolu 

tionary  War? 

2.  Mention  four  men  who  were  prominent  in  the  War  in  the 

South. 

3.  Trace  on  the  map  the  race  between  Greene  and  Cornwallis. 

4.  What  was  Greene's  strategy  in  fighting? 


112  THE  MAKERS  OF  AMERICA 

5.  What  was  said  to  be  the  most  brilliant  battle  of  the  Revolu 

tion?    Who  was  its  leader? 

6.  Why  was  General  Francis  Marion  called  "  The  Swamp  Fox"? 

7.  What  did  Cornwallis  call  Sumter? 

8.  What  boy  of  thirteen  fought  in  the  Battle  of  Hanging  Rock? 

What  high  office  did  he  afterwards  hold? 

9.  Why  do  we  remember  Nathan  Hale? 

PRONOUNCING  LIST 

Guilford    gil'ferd  Andre     an'dra 

Huguenots     hu'ge-nots  picturesque    pik-tur-esk' 


CHAPTER   VII 

JOHN  PAUL   JONES,    "  THE  FATHER  OF  THE 
AMERICAN   NAVY" 

MOST  of  our  great  wars  have  been  fought  on  the 
sea  as  well  as  on  the  land.  This  was  true  of  the  Ameri 
can  Revolution.  When  the  war  began  the  Americans 
had  no  navy.  In  the  first  year  of  the  war,  however, 
Congress  ordered  thirteen  fighting  ships  to  be  built, 
and  bought  some  merchant  ships  to  be  made  over  into 
vessels  of  war.  This  was  a  small  beginning  for  a  great 
navy,  but  the  famous  American  sea  rovers  made  the 
most  of  what  they  had.  One  of  the  boldest  of  these 
sea  dogs  was  John  Paul  Jones,  The  Father  of  the  Ameri 
can  Navy. 

John  Paul,  as  he  was  called  when  a  boy,  was  born  in 
Scotland.  He  was  apprenticed  to  a  shipmaster  at  the 
age  of  twelve.  He  made  many  sea  voyages  when  quite 
young  and  was,  for  a  short  time,  engaged  in  the  slave 
trade.  He  did  not  like  this  job,  however,  and  soon 
gave  it  up. 

He  was  apparently  a  self-reliant  lad.  When  he  was 
seventeen  he  had  command  of  a  vessel  which  was  trad 
ing  with  the  West  Indies.  Two  years  before  the  Revo 
lution  broke  out  John  Paul  came  to  Virginia  and  settled 


THE  MAKERS  OF  AMERICA 


down  in   that  place.     His  brother  had  recently  died 
there  and  John  Paul  had  inherited  his  estate. 

It  should  not  really  be  said  that  he  settled  down  in 
Virginia,  because  he  never  settled  down  anywhere.    He 

was  always  in  the  current  of 
active  affairs.  He  never 
stopped. 

At    the    outbreak    of    the 
Revolution,  and  when  he  was 
twenty-eight  years  of  age,  he 
offered  his  services  to  Con 
gress.    They  were  accepted, 
and  he  was  made  an  officer 
in  the  infant  navy.     It  was 
at  this  time  that  he  took  the 
name  of  Jones  out  of  admira 
tion  for  General  Willie  Jones, 
a  wealthy  planter  of  North 
Carolina,  who  had  befriended 
him  in  his  days  of  poverty. 
From  this  time   on   he   was 
known  as  John  Paul  Jones. 
Soon  after  this  time  he  hoisted  an  American  flag  on 
the  ship-of-war,   Alfred.     This  was  the  first  flag  ever 
hoisted   on   an   American   war   ship.     The   flag   was   a 
banner  of  yellow  silk  bearing  the  picture  of  a  pine  tree 
and  a  rattlesnake,  with  the  words,  "  Don't  tread  on  me." 
Jones  was  a  kind  of  Francis  Marion  gone  out  to  sea. 
He  struck  wherever  he  could  find  an  enemy  to  strike. 


JOHN  PAUL  JONES 

John  Paul  Jones  fought  on 
many  seas  and  under  many 
flags.  His  was  a  brave,  un 
daunted  spirit. 


JOHN  PAUL  JONES  115 

In  the  summer  of  1777  he  sailed  away  to  Europe,  on 
board  the  Ranger,  looking  for  victims.  In  the  spring  of 
the  following  year,  while  prowling  around  the  coasts 
and  harbors  of  the  British  Isles,  he  landed  at  White- 
haven,  England,  spiked  thirty-eight  of  the  big  British 
guns  and  then  sailed  away. 

The  following  summer  found  him  cruising  along  the 
eastern  shore  of  Scotland.  The  happy  thought  occurred 
to  him  that  if  he  could  capture  a  real  live  British  noble 
man  he  might  exchange  him  for  money  or  for  Ameri 
can  prisoners.  He  also  knew  that  the  Earl  of  Selkirk, 
an  old  friend  of  his  father's,  lived  in  that  locality,  near 
the  mouth  of  the  River  Dee. 

Jones  anchored  the  Ranger  and,  with  a  few  men  in 
a  small  boat,  rowed  to  the  mansion  of  the  Earl,  only 
to  find  that  his  intended  victim  was  not  at  home.  He 
was  about  to  go  back  to  the  boat  empty-handed  when 
one  of  his  men  announced  that  he  was  going  to  plunder 
the  house  and  carry  off  the  silver  plate.  Jones  tried 
to  persuade  him  not  to  do  so,  but  to  no  avail.  The 
man  went  in  and  made  the  demand  and  the  terrified 
lady  of  the  house  handed  over  the  family  silver.  A 
little  later,  when  the  plunder  of  the  expedition  was  sold, 
Jones  bought  the  plate  and  sent  it  back  to  Lady  Selkirk 
with  a  polite  note  of  apology.  It  is  said  of  John  Paul 
Jones  that  he  never  forgot  the  friends  of  his  boyhood  days. 

In  the  following  year,  1779,  came  the  most  memorable 
exploit  of  this  great  sea  fighter.  This  time  he  was  cruis 
ing  along  the  eastern  coast  of  England.  His  boat  was 


n6  THE  MAKERS  OF  AMERICA 

the  Bon  Homme  Richard  (the  good  man  Richard),  named 
in  honor  of  Poor  Richard's  Almanac.  The  boat  was  an 
old  hulk  which  had  been  given  to  Jones  by  the  King  of 
France.  "Her  decks  were  too  weak  for  her  guns;  her 
guns  were  too  old  for  service,"  and  her  motley  crew  was 
made  up  of  men  from  all  quarters  of  the  globe. 

While  cruising  along  the  shore  in  September,  Jones 
sighted  the  Serapis,  a  fine,  new,  large,  British  frigate. 
In  a  moment  the  fight  was  on.  The  Serapis  was  the 
better  sailor  and  thus  had  a  great  advantage.  But 
Jones  ran  his  old  boat  alongside  and  lashed  the  two 
vessels  together  with  a  two-inch  cable.  Then  took 
place  one  of  the  most  desperate  and  bloody  sea  fights 
in  all  history.  The  Richard  was  pretty  well  shot  to 
pieces,  but  when  Jones  was  asked  if  he  was  ready  to 
surrender,  his  calm  reply  was,  "I  have  not  yet  begun 
to  fight." 

The  battle  was  fought  at  night  and  the  sky  was  lit 
up  for  miles  around  by  the  flames  from  the  burning 
vessels.  Both  vessels  were  on  fire,  the  Serapis  in  a 
dozen  places  at  one  time.  Finally  Jones  shot  away 
her  main  mast  and  she  hauled  down  her  flag  and  sur 
rendered.  The  Richard,  in  her  worthless  condition,  was 
abandoned  and  sank  soon  after  in  the  North  Sea. 

The  British  captain  was  not  very  cheerful  about  his 
surrender.  He  had  known  of  Jones  before  and  re 
marked  to  him,  "It  is  painful  to  deliver  up  my  sword 
to  a  man  who  has  fought  with  a  rope  around  his 
neck."  He  referred  to  the  fact  that  the  British  govern- 


"I  HAVE  NOT  YET  BEGUN  TO  FIGHT.' 


JOHN  PAUL  JONES  117 

ment  had  declared  Jones  a  pirate  and  an  outlaw  and 
would  hang  him  if  caught. 

This  victory  caused  great  excitement  all  over  the 
British  Isles.  The  minister  having  charge  of  the  navy 
wrote  to  one  of  his  captains  telling  him  to  search  the 
seas  at  once  and  declaring,  "that  if  he  took  Paul  Jones, 
he  would  be  as  high  in  public  estimation  as  if  he  had 
beaten  the  combined  fleets  of  France  and  Spain." 

Some  years  after  the  close  of  the  American  Revolu 
tion  John  Paul  Jones  became  an  officer  in  the  Russian 
navy  and  helped  to  defeat  the  Turks.  A  few  years 
later  the  man  who  had  fought  under  the  flags  of  three 
nations  and  was  highly  honored  by  all  three,  died  in 
Paris  at  the  early  age  of  forty-five.  His  career  was  as 
stormy  as  any  of  the  seven  seas  over  which  he  sailed. 
A  few  years  ago  his  remains  were  conveyed  in  high 
honor  to  the  United  States  and  buried  with  all  the 
honors  of  war  in  one  of  the  buildings  of  the  Naval 
Academy  at  Annapolis. 

HINTS   AND   QUESTIONS 

1.  Who  was  the  first  man  to  hoist  an  American  flag  on  a  ship- 

of-war? 

2.  Where  did  the  fight  between  the  Bon  Homme  Richard  and 

Serapis  take  place? 

3.  What  is  the  purpose  of  the  Naval  Academy  at  Annapolis? 

4.  Take  a  map  and  trace  the  wanderings  of  John  Paul  Jones. 

PRONOUNCING  LIST 
Ranger     ran'jir  Bon  Homme  Richard     bon  om  re'shar 


CHAPTER  VIII 
DANIEL  BOONE,   THE  KENTUCKY  PATHFINDER 

FOR  a  long  time  the  settlements  in  America  were 
scattered  in  a  thin  fringe  along  tne  Atlantic  Coast.  The 
country  west  of  the  Allegheny  Mountains  was  left  in  the 
quiet  possession  of  the  Indian  and  the  buffalo.  After 
a  time,  however,  venturesome  men  wanted  to  know 
what  this  western  country  looked  like.  They  had  a 
natural  human  curiosity.  They  had  also  heard  stories 
of  the  fertile  soil,  fine  rivers,  and,  above  all,  perhaps, 
of  the  wild  game  and  fur-bearing  animals.  Hardy  men 
packed  up  their  few  belongings,  including  a  rifle  and 
a  powder  horn,  and  started  out  with  a  shout  of  West 
ward,  ho!  The  Westward  Movement  was  now  on. 

This  was  the  golden  age  of  hunters,  trappers,  Indian 
fighters,  and  backwoodsmen,  and  the  greatest  of  these 
was  Daniel  Boone.  He  was  a  pathfinder,  and  a  path- 
maker  as  well,  to  the  Far  West,  and  many  followed  in 
his  wake.  The  Far  West  in  those  days,  it  should  be 
understood,  was  made  up  of  the  eastern  parts  of  Ken 
tucky  and  Tennessee. 

The  southwestern  part  of  England  is  famous  as  the 
home  of  heroes.  Here  lived  Hawkins,  Drake,  and  the 
other  "sea  dogs  of  Devon"  who  made  Great  Britain 
famous  on  the  ocean. 

118 


DANIEL  BOONE 


119 


In  this  same  neighborhood  there  lived  a  Quaker 
named  Squire  Boone.  Boone  had  heard  many  glowing 
tales  about  William  Penn's  Colony  in  North  America. 
He  had  a  dash  of 
adventure  in  his  blood 
and  longed  for  the 
forests  of  the  New 
World.  He  made  up 
his  mind  to  go  and 
finally  set  sail,  with 
some  other  members 
of  his  family.  In  due 
time  he  found  his  way 
up  the  Delaware  River 
to  Philadelphia. 

Boone  immediately 
fell  in  love  with  the 
Quaker  Colony  and 
also  with  one  of  its 
fairest  daughters, 
Miss  Sarah  Morgan. 
They  were  married 
soon  after  in  the  old 
Quaker  Meeting 
house  and  settled 

down  to  the  life  of  pioneers.  The  clear  blue  smoke  from 
their  log  cabin  curled  in  a  solitary  and  lonely  way  above 
the  tall  trees  of  the  forest. 

The  cabin  was   not   lonely  within,  however,  as  chil- 


DANIEL  BOONE  AND  His  DOG 

The  dog,  man's  most  faithful  animal 
friend,  followed  Boone  through  the 
western  forests. 


120  THE  MAKERS  OF  AMERICA 

dren  soon  began  to  arrive,  and  the  sixth  of  these  was 
named  Daniel.  He  was  born  in  the  year  1734,  not  far 
from  the  present  site  of  Reading,  Pennsylvania. 

The  young  Daniel  was  not  brought  up  with  a  silver 
spoon  in  his  mouth.  Neither  did  he  amuse  himself 
with  mechanical  toys  like  those  of  today.  His  pioneer 
mother  was  too  busy  to  give  him  much  attention.  So 
he  probably  played  on  the  floor  with  the  furs  which 
his  father  had  brought  home  or  fondly  caressed  his 
father's  rifle,  if  left  within  his  reach. 

As  he  grew  up  he  lived  the  life  of  a  pioneer  boy. 
Even  as  a  little  fellow  he  became  skillful  in  woodcraft. 
It  is  said  that  when  he  was  about  ten  years  old  he  was 
accustomed  to  kill  birds  and  other  small  game  with  a 
" knob-root  sapling"  which  he  threw  with  great  ac 
curacy. 

At  twelve  his  father  made  him  a  present  of  a  rifle, 
and  also  gave  him  the  task  of  furnishing  meat  for  the 
family  table.  Never  did  a  boy  take  more  keen  enjoy 
ment  in  a  task.  Daniel  felt  supremely  happy  and  im 
portant  when  he  went  in  search  of  game.  He  was  a 
good  hunter.  He  could  tread  the  forest  in  his  mocca- 
sined  feet  without  breaking  a  twig  or  stirring  a  leaf. 

Needless  to  say,  Boone  did  not  care  very  much  for 
book  learning.  As  a  matter  of  fact  he  "  never  saw  the 
inside  of  a  school  room"  in  his  life.  His  mother  and 
an  aunt  gave  him  all  the  instruction  he  ever  received. 
His  writing  and  spelling  were  always  poor  and  his  use 
of  the  English  language  was  not  like  that  of  most  other 


DANIEL  BOONE  121 

people.  On  one  of  his  woodland  trips  he  cut  an  inscrip 
tion  in  the  bark  of  a  beech  tree  to  the  effect  that  he 
had  "tilled  a  bar"  at  that  place.  And  in  one  of  his 
letters  he  speaks  of  "sculping"  the  Indians  and  "flus- 
terating"  their  plans.  Although  he  was  uneducated, 
he  had  a  bright,  keen,  and  intelligent  mind.  In  some 
respects,  of  course,  he  was  highly  educated.  He  studied 
nature's  wide-open  book  during  his  entire  life. 

During  the  time  that  Daniel  was  not  hunting  or 
trapping  he  was  engaged  as  a  farmer,  weaver,  or  black 
smith.  In  those  days  the  frontiersman  had  to  do 
almost  everything  himself.  He  was  a  "Jack  of  all 
trades."  Boone  never  had  any  great  liking  for  any  of 
these  occupations,  but  he  disliked  the  forge  less  than 
the  others.  It  has  been  suggested  that  this  was  be 
cause  his  blacksmith  shop  "enabled  him  to  repair 
broken  rifles  and  traps."  During  this  whole  time, 
whether  he  was  aware  of  it  or  not,  he  was  preparing 
himseJf  for  his  great  work  by  a  careful  study  of  the 
habits  and  traits  of  the  American  Indian, 


IN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

The  early  pioneer  was  restless.  He  loved  to  wander. 
So  one  day  Squire  Boone  told  his  family  that  he  was 
going  to  move  to  North  Carolina.  The  family  started 
off  in  a  canvas  top  wagon,  somewhat  like  the  prairie 
schooner  of  a  later  date.  Daniel  was  fifteen  years  of  age 
at  this  time,  and  the  trip  was  a  great  event  in  his  life. 


122 


THE  MAKERS  OF  AMERICA 


The  Boones  drifted  leisurely  along  and  it  was  more 
than  a  year  and  a  half  before  the  crack  of  Boone's  rifle 
" first  woke  the  echoes  of  the  Carolina  Mountains." 
Daniel  had  found  a  hunter's  paradise.  There  was  an 
abundance  of  wild  game  on  every  hand.  "The  buffalo, 


THE  FOOTPRINTS  OF  DANIEL  BOONE  AND  GEORGE  ROGERS  CLARK 

This  map  should  be  referred  to  constantly  in  studying  the  careers  of 
Boone  and  Clark. 

the  elk,  the  Virginia  deer,  the  bear,  the  panther,  the 
wildcat,  wolf,  and  fox  wandered  through  the  meadows 
and  cane  brakes  about  its  rivers,  or  took  their  repose 
amid  the  cool  shades  of  its  rocky  heights." 

The  Boone  family  was  only  nicely  settled  in  its  new 
home  in  the  Valley  of  the  Yadkin  River  when  the 
French  and  Indian  War  came  on.  When  the  call  came 


DANIEL  BOONE  123 

for  volunteers  a  hundred  men  from  North  Carolina  re 
sponded  for  duty.  Daniel  Boone,  a  boy  of  twenty,  was 
in  this  company.  By  rapid  marching  this  little  band 
arrived  just  in  time  to  join  General  Braddock's  expedi 
tion  against  Fort  Duquesne. 

It  is  not  known  that  Boone  did  anything  very  won 
derful  in  this  war  but  he  did  form  a  very  important 
acquaintance  while  he  was  with  General  Braddock.  He 
fell  in  with  John  Findley,  a  hunter  and  pack-peddler, 
who  had  traveled  in  Kentucky.  This  meeting  was  the 
turning-point  in  Boone's  career.  Findley  told  him  all 
about  the  fine  climate,  the  beautiful  forests,  and  the 
abundant  game  of  the  Kentucky  country.  This  natu 
rally  fired  him  with  a  desire  to  visit  that  paradise  of 
the  backwoodsman.  He  did  so  soon  after,  and  it  was 
in  this  connection  that  he  became  famous. 

It  is  not  well  for  a  backwoodsman  to  be  alone.  So, 
in  due  time,  Daniel  Boone  met  Rebecca  Bryan,  a  young 
girl,  who  was  described  as  "  black-eyed  and  rosy- 
cheeked."  It  was  a  case  of  love  at  first  sight.  Rebecca 
was  only  fifteen  at  the  time  of  her  engagement  and 
seventeen  at  the  time  of  her  marriage.  Boone's  father, 
who  was  a  Justice  of  the  Peace,  read  the  marriage  service 
for  the  happy  pair. 

The  blue  smoke  then  curled  up  from  another  cabin 
in  the  wilderness.  Baby  James  Boone  arrived  in  the 
year  following  the  marriage  and  two  years  later  Israel 
Boone  put  in  an  appearance.  In  the  course  of  time 
six  other  sons  and  daughters  gathered  around  the  Boone 


124 


THE  MAKERS  OF  AMERICA 


fireside.    Their  names  were,  Susannah,  Jemima,  Lavinia, 

Rebecca,  Daniel,  and  John. 

In   the  meantime,   Boone  was  working  hard  in  the 

field  and  forest  and  living  the  care-free  life  in  the  open 

which  he  enjoyed  so  much.  It  was  not  long,  however, 

until  the  bliss  of  this 
quiet  life  was  jarred 
by  the  war  whoops  of 
the  Cherokee  Indians. 
It  looked  for  a  time 
as  though  all  of  the 
western  settlements 
would  be  wiped  out  of 
existence.  And  so 
Daniel  and  Rebecca 
gathered  up  their 
little  children,  and 
went  in  haste  to  the 
eastern  shore  of  Vir 
ginia.  As  soon  as 

BOONE  FIGHTING  INDIANS  Boone  had  established 

his    family    in    that 

place  he  himself  went  back  to  North  Carolina  to  fight 
the  Indians.  When  the  danger  from  the  red  men  was 
over  he  brought  his  family  back  again  to  the  old  home 
in  North  Carolina. 

Boone  was  still  restless.  He  didn't  care  much  for 
farming  and  game  was  becoming  scarce  in  the  Yadkin 
Valley.  So,  with  his  rifle  on  his  shoulder,  he  was  com- 


DANIEL  BOONE  125 

pelled  to  go  long  distances  from  home  in  order  to  find 
game.  At  one  time  he  found  himself  on  the  Watauga 
River  in  eastern  Tennessee.  It  was  here  that  he 
"tilled  a  bar"  and  made  note  of  it  on  the  bark  of  a 
tree. 

He  was  charmed  with  the  beauty  and  the  silence  of 
the  whole  country.  On  one  occasion,  when  standing  on 
a  mountain  peak  and  looking  down  upon  the  buffalo 
grazing  peacefully  below,  he  exclaimed;  "I  am  richer 
than  the  man  mentioned  in  the  Scripture,  who  owned 
the  cattle  on  a  thousand  hills  —  I  own  the  wild  beasts 
of  more  than  a  thousand  valleys." 

Soon  after  this  we  find  Boone  ranging  about  in 
Florida  where  he  thought  of  setting  up  a  new  home. 
His  wife  was  not  in  favor  of  this,  however,  and  he  gave 
it  up.  He  was  still  restless  and  his  heart  still  longed 
for  the  land  about  which  his  friend  Findley  had  told 
him. 

As  fate  would  have  it,  John  Findley  turned  up  just 
at  this  time,  and  was  a  guest  in  the  Boone  cabin  during 
the  entire  winter.  While  the  big  logs  crackled  in  the 
open  fireplace,  the  two  men  made  plans  for  an  expedi 
tion  to  Kentucky.  A  party  was  finally  organized  for 
the  spring,  composed  of  Boone,  Findley,  and  four  other 
hardy  men  from  the  Valley. 

To  KENTUCKY 

On  May  Day,  1769,  the  party  started  towards  the 
setting  sun,  leaving  their  wives  and  children  behind 


126 


THE  MAKERS  OF  AMERICA 


them.  The  men  were  equipped  in  the  best  backwoods 
fashion.  Each  man  rode  a  horse  and  led  another  be 
hind  him.  They  were  clad  in  leather  shirts  and  breeches 


BOONE'S  FIRST  GLIMPSE  OF  KENTUCKY 

Boone's  friend,  John  Findley,  had  told  him  that  Kentucky  was  a 
beautiful  country.  It  was  even  more  beautiful  than  he  expected 
and  he  stared  and  gazed  in  silence. 

and  had  soft  moccasins  on  their  feet.  Their  rifles  glis 
tened  in  the  sunlight,  while  their  knives  and  tomahawks 
hung  conveniently  at  their  sides.  They  must  have  pre 
sented  a  striking  picture  as  they  waved  a  good-bye  to 
their  wives  and  children  just  before  disappearing  around 


DANIEL   BOONE  127 

a  bend  in  the  road.  The  day  was  beautiful.  "It  was 
a  glorious  morning  for  the  commencement  of  a  glorious 
enterprise." 

They  finally  reached  the  promised  land  and  were  not 
disappointed.  Mother  Nature  had  on  her  best  dress  and 
received  the  newcomers  with  a  smile.  Game  was  plen 
tiful  on  every  hand.  The  animals  were  also  quite  tame. 
The  buffalo  kept  on  grazing  quietly  as  the  hunters  ap 
proached.  They  were  not  frightened  because  they  did 
not  yet  know  that  man  was  their  enemy.  They  found 
this  out  a  little  later  and  soon  learned  to  seek  safety 
by  a  mad  rush  through  the  thickets. 

After  toiling  on  for  about  two  months  Boone  and 
his  party  halted,  and  pitched  camp  on  a  small  stream 
in  the  east  central  part  of  the  state.  Going  out  from 
this  camp  as  a  center,  they  began  to  hunt  and  trap, 
and  also  to  skin  their  fur-bearing  victims.  It  was  an 
easy  matter  to  kill  the  animals  and  soon  the  hunters 
had  an  abundance  of  food  for  their  meals  and  a  fine 
stock  of  furs  for  the  market. 

They  lived  undisturbed  in  the  peace  and  quiet  of 
their  forest  camp  for  some  time.  It  then  became  evi 
dent  that  the  Indians  were  aware  of  their  presence. 
The  red  men  lurked  about  the  valley  and  one  evening 
they  captured  Boone  and  his  brother-in-law  John 
Stewart.  The  Indians  then  compelled  Boone  to  show 
them  the  way  to  the  camp.  Upon  arriving  there  they 
surprised  and  captured  the  other  four  men,  and  then 
proceeded  to  help  themselves  to  whatever  they  wanted. 


128  THE  MAKERS  OF  AMERICA 

They  packed  up  the  furs,  weapons,  and  everything  else 
of  value  and  then  released  their  prispners  after  telling 
them  to  leave  the  country  as  fast  as  their  legs  could 
carry  them.  Findley  and  three  others  were  very  glad 
to  take  the  hint,  but  Boone  and  Stewart  said  they 
would  remain  in  Kentucky  and  fight  it  out. 

The  two  men  then  began  to  shift  for  themselves. 
They  entered  a  Shawnee  camp  in  the  neighborhood 
and  took  four  horses.  The  Indians  gave  chase,  and 
two  days  later  Boone  and  Stewart  were  again  in 
captivity. 

The  Indians  then  told  their  captives  that  they  were 
going  to  take  them  to  a  Shawnee  Village,  a  long  dis 
tance  away.  They  started  out  on  their  journey.  On 
this  journey  Boone 's  keen  mind  made  use  of  his  Indian 
studies  of  a  few  years  before.  The  two  captives  put 
themselves  on  their  very  best  behavior,  and  soon  the 
Indians  began  to  have  a  kindly  feeling  towards  them. 
They  gave  them  more  privileges  as  time  went  on  and 
Boone  was  watching  for  his  opportunity  to  escape. 

Finally,  one  night  after  they  had  been  on  the  march 
for  a  week  and  while  the  Indians  were  all  sleeping 
soundly,  Boone  thought  it  a  good  time  to  strike  out. 
He  wakened  Stewart  and  the  two  men  set  out  together. 
"  Keeping  well  out  of  the  glow  of  the  camp  fire,  the 
two  plucky  backwoodsmen  secured  rifles,  bullets,  and 
powder,  and,  their  moccasined  feet  never  making  a 
sound,  vanished  ghost-like  into  the  darkness  of  the 
surrounding  cane  brake." 


DANIEL  BOONE  129 

Findley  and  his  three  companions  were  in  the  mean 
time  making  rapid  strides  for  North  Carolina.  Near 
the  Cumberland  gap  they  met  Squire  Boone,  the  brother 
of  Daniel,  and  a  companion  who  were  bringing  a  load 
of  supplies  to  the  Boone  camp  in  Kentucky.  Findley 
and  his  followers  related  their  sad  experience  and  said 
that  they  believed  Boone  and  Stewart  were  dead.  After 
talking  the  matter  over  both  parties  started  back  for 
North  Carolina,  when  a  very  unexpected  event  occurred. 
Boone  and  Stewart  came  suddenly  out  of  the  forest  and 
made  their  appearance  before  their  astonished  compan 
ions.  They  were  in  rags  and  tatters,  tired  out  and 
half  starved. 

Boone  told  his  story.  Some  of  the  men  wanted  to 
go  back  east,  but  Boone 's  spirit  was  unbroken  and  he 
declared  his  intention  of  going  to  Kentucky.  He  did 
so,  and  his  brother  and  John  Stewart  and  one  other 
man  accompanied  him.  Not  long  after  this  these  four 
hardy  men  were  sitting  about  a  new  camp  fire  in  the 
Kentucky  forest,  not  far  from  the  embers  of  the  old  one. 

Once  again  the  men  started  to  roam  the  woods.  One 
day  Stewart  did  not  return.  The  country  round  about 
the  camp  was  searched,  but  all  to  no  avail.  Five  years 
later  Boone  found  some  human  bones  in  a  hollow  tree 
and  the  powder  horn  near  by  had  the  name  of  Stewart 
upon  it.  These  remains  told  the  tale  of  Stewart's 
fate. 


THE  MAKERS  OF  AMERICA 
BOONESBORO 

In  spite  of  all  this  Boone  loved  Kentucky.  It  was 
a  beautiful  place  and  the  people  were  not  crowded. 
There  was  "elbow  room  and  breathing  space,"  as  Boone 
once  put  it.  Consequently  he  went  back  to  North 


CUMBERLAND  GAP 

Through  this  beautiful  gap  in  the  mountains  Daniel  Boone  and 
his  followers  passed  on  their  way  to  Kentucky.  Find  its  location 
on  the  map. 

Carolina  and,  in  1773,  with  his  wife  and  children, 
started  for  their  permanent  home  in  Kentucky.  Five 
other  families  joined  the  line  of  march  and  traveled, 
sometimes  on  foot  and  sometimes  on  horseback,  sleep 
ing  at  night  under  the  open  sky. 

Boone's    journey    westward    was    sad    and    eventful. 


DANIEL  BOONE  13  z 

While  on  the  march  he  sent  his  son  James  with  a  few 
men  to  one  of  the  frontier  settlements  to  obtain  some 
supplies.  The  trip  was  not  a  long  one.  The  men 
started  early  in  the  morning  and  expected  to  return 
before  dark.  They  reached  the  settlement,  obtained 
their  supplies,  and  were  on  their  way  back  when  they 
lost  the  trail.  Being  compelled  to  go  into  camp  for 
the  night  they  built  a  fire,  cooked  their  supper,  and 
then  rolled  up  in  their  blankets  around  the  camp  fire. 
The  smoke  from  their  camp  attracted  the  attention  of 
some  skulking  Shawnees  who  hung  around  until  day 
break  and  then  made  a  surprise  attack.  Young  James 
Boone,  a  fine,  big,  muscular  lad  of  seventeen,  fell  under 
the  red  man's  tomahawk,  and  so  did  all  the  others  of 
the  party  with  the  exception  of  two  —  a  negro  and  a 
white  man.  The  two  survivors  found  their  way  to 
Boone 's  camp,  which  was  only  three  miles  away,  and 
told  their  story  to  the  sorrowing  father  and  mother. 

That  was  a  gloomy  morning  for  Daniel  and  Rebecca 
Boone.  The  father  hurried  to  the  scene  of  the  mas 
sacre  and  lovingly  carried  the  body  of  his  son  back  to 
the  camp.  The  body  of  the  young  James  was  con 
signed  to  mother  earth  and  simple  prayers  went  up 
from  the  lips  of  these  forest  children.  The  dense  leaves 
overhead,  fanned  by  the  chilly  October  wind,  sang  a 
requiem  over  the  newly  made  grave,  and  the  travelers 
moved  on. 

James  Boone  was  the  eldest  son  and  at  the  age  of 
seven  had  begun  to  go  on  hunting  trips  with  his  father. 


132  THE  MAKERS  OF  AMERICA 

In  this  way  a  beautiful  comradeship  sprang  up  be 
tween  father  and  son.  "In  the  cold  nights^of  the  open 
camp,  as  Daniel  and  James  lay  under  the  frosty  stars, 
the  father  kept  the  boy  warm  snuggled  to  his  breast 
under  the  broad  flap  of  his  hunting  shirt.  Sometimes 
the  two  were  away  from  home  for  months  together, 
and  Daniel  declared  little  James  to  be  as  good  a  woods 
man  as  his  father." 

A  very  serious  debate  took  place  in  the  quiet  forest 
as  soon  as  the  burial  was  over.  The  majority  of  the 
party  wanted  to  abandon  the  expedition.  Boone's  voice 
was  on  the  other  side.  He  wished  to  press  on  to  Ken 
tucky,  the  land  of  his  dreams.  However,  the  Indians 
became  still  more  threatening  and  most  of  the  party 
turned  back. 

Boone,  however,  still  hung  around  the  locality.  He 
found  it  very  difficult  to  support  his  family  in  an 
abandoned  hut  which  he  found  on  the  Clinch  River. 
Finally  in  the  following  summer  (1774)  he  pushed  back 
into  the  interior  of  Kentucky  and  founded  Boonesboro 
on  the  Kentucky  River. 

On  this  trip  he  made  a  discovery.  James  Harrod 
had  led  a  small  company  of  men  from  Pennsylvania 
into  Kentucky  and  had  founded  Harrodsburg  only  a 
short  time  before.  If  Boone's  former  expedition  had 
not  been  interrupted  by  the  death  of  his  son,  to  him, 
and  not  to  James  Harrod,  would  have  fallen  the  honor 
of  having  founded  the  first  permanent  white  settle 
ment  in  what  is  now  the  State  of  Kentucky. 


DANIEL  BOONE 


133 


RICHARD  HENDERSON 

Harrod  and  Boone  had  made  their  settlements  in 
Kentucky  in  an  irregular  sort  of  way.  They  had  only 
a  very  shadowy  claim  to  the  land  and  the  Indians  re 
sisted  them  at  every  step.  It  now  occurred  to  Richard 
Henderson  of  North  Carolina  to  form  a  company  and 


DANIEL  BOONE  MEETS  THE  INDIANS 
They  are  discussing  the  famous  treaty  made  at  Sycamore  Shoals. 

obtain  lands  from  the  Indians  by  treaty.  He  accord 
ingly  organized  a  party  known  as  the  Transylvania 
Company  and  met  the  Indians  at  a  place  called  Syca 
more  Shoals  to  make  the  bargain.  This  was  in  the 
spring  of  1775.  Twelve  hundred  red  men  met  the 
whites  in  a  very  remarkable  assembly  at  this  place. 
Henderson  was  a  masterful  and  attractive  man,  and 
as  he  spoke  to  the  Indian?  they  soon  fell  under  his 


I34  THE  MAKERS  OF  AMERICA 

sway.  There  was  one  exception  to  this  rule.  Old 
Chief  Dragging  Canoe  pleaded  eloquently  with  his 
people  not  to  sell  their  lands  to  the  pale  faces,  but  to 
no  avail.  The  sale  was  made  and  it  included  almost  all 
of  the  present  state  of  Kentucky  and  a  part  of 
Tennessee. 

THE  WILDERNESS  ROAD 

Henderson  was  now  ready  for  action.  He  had  known 
Daniel  Boone  back  in  the  Yadkin  Valley  of  North 
Carolina  and  now  employed  him  to  cut  a  way  for  his 
wagons  into  the  heart  of  Kentucky.  The  result  was 
the  famous  "  Wilderness  Road." 

This  road  is  one  of  the  most  noted  in  American  his 
tory  and  was  an  important  route  into  the  western 
country.  Boone  blazed  the  trees  to  indicate  the  trail, 
and  his  followers,  with  axe  in  hand,  chopped  their 
narrow  passage  through  trees,  vines,  and  dense  under 
growth,  a  distance  of  about  two  hundred  miles.  It  was 
slow  and  difficult  work.  In  one  instance  they  had  to 
cut  their  way  through  "a  region  of  dead  brushwood, 
through  which  not  even  the  buffalo  had  penetrated." 

At  times  the  road  making  was  a  fairly  easy  task. 
Boone  and  his  men  made  use  of  the  buffalo  trails  as 
much  as  they  could.  These  trails  were  beaten  down 
by  the  heavy  animals  as  they  went  to  and  from  the  big 
"Salt  Licks"  of  Kentucky.  The  buffalo  was  very  fond 
of  salt  and  sometimes  went  long  distances  to  get  it. 
On  one  occasion  the  attention  of  the  road  makers  was 


DANIEL  BOONE  135 

attracted  by  a  low,  rumbling  sound  not  very  far  away. 
Going  to  the  top  of  a  little  hill  they  looked  down  and 
saw  a  herd  of  hundreds  of  buffaloes  lumbering  along 
the  trail  with  little  calves  frolicking  by  their  sides. 

Life  in  Boonesboro  was  primitive  and  simple.  Boone 
was  the  very  center  of  it.  He  directed  everything.  As 
soon  as  the  fort  was  finished  Boone's  wife  and  chil 
dren  came  out  and  his  home  life  was  again  established. 

Boone  also  had  a  part  in  drafting  the  simple  laws 
which  were  made  for  the  government  of  the  colony. 
One  of  these  laws,  strangely  enough,  was  for  the  pro 
tection  of  wild  game,  and  another  "to  prevent  profane 
swearing  and  Sabbath  breaking."  Most  of  these  Ken 
tucky  pioneers  were  Scotch-Irish  and  were  very  strict 
in  matters  relating  to  religion  and  the  Sabbath.  They  were 
also  very  thrifty  and  close  in  the  care  of  their  property. 
It  was  said  of  them  that  "they  kept  the  Sabbath  and 
everything  else  that  they  could  lay  their  hands  on." 

While  life  in  Boonesboro  was  simple  it  was  also 
dangerous.  Boone  used  to  say,  with  some  pride,  that 
his  wife  and  daughters  were  the  first  white  women  to 
look  upon  the  Kentucky  River.  This  honor  was  not 
without  its  dangers.  One  warm  summer  day  Jemima 
Boone  and  Elizabeth  and  Fanny  Galloway,  the  young 
daughters  of  one  of  Boone's  most  intimate  friends,  went 
out  in  a  canoe  on  the  Kentucky  River.  The  care-free 
girls,  from  fourteen  to  sixteen  years  of  age,  paddled 
along  for  a  time  and  then  let  their  canoe  drift  into  the 
bushes  of  the  opposite  shore.  The  Indians  had  been 


136  THE  MAKERS  OF  AMERICA 

quiet  for  a  long  time,  and  the  girls  did  not  suspect 
any  danger.  In  this  they  were  mistaken.  Five  Shawnee 
braves  were  hiding  near  the  shore  waiting  for  the  canoe 
to  approach  them.  As  the  girls  came  near,  one  of  the 
Indians  waded  out  quietly  into  the  water  and  grabbed 
the  canoe  and  pulled  it  ashore  almost  before  the  girls 
knew  what  was  going  on.  The  younger  girls  were  para 
lyzed  by  fright,  but  the  eldest,  Elizabeth  Galloway, 
swung  her  canoe  paddle  heavily  upon  the  head  of  the 
Indian  brave  and  made  a  deep  wound  in  his  scalp.  She 
was  quickly  disarmed,  however,  and  the  five  Indians  set 
out  to  take  the  girls  to  the  Shawnee  towns  on  the  north 
side  of  the  Ohio  River. 

The  girls,  true  to  their  backwoods  instinct,  began  to 
think  of  means  of  escape.  They  knew  that  the  men 
of  Boonesboro  would  set  out  in  search  of  them  as  soon 
as  they  were  missed.  So,  as  they  went  along  the  trail, 
they  were  careful  to  make  deep  tracks  in  the  path  where 
the  ground  was  wet  and  soft.  Again,  they  stealthily 
broke  little  twigs  on  the  bushes  by  the  wayside  and 
left  them  hanging  down.  As  often  as  they  could,  with 
out  being  seen  by  their  captors,  they  tore  fragments 
from  their  clothing  and  hung  them  like  little  flags  on 
the  thorn  bushes  as  they  passed.  In  this  way  they 
blazed  a  trail  for  their  rescuers. 

It  was  nearly  sundown  before  the  girls  were  missed. 
A  hasty  search  revealed  the  abandoned  canoe  and  the 
marks  of  the  scrambling  on  the  river  bank.  Then  the 
chase  began.  Two  parties  set  out  in  pursuit  of  the 


DANIEL  BOONE  137 

redskins.  At  the  head  of  one  was  Richard  Galloway, 
father  of  two  of  the  missing  girls.  Daniel  Boone  led 
the  other.  In  Boone's  party  were  Samuel  Henderson, 
Flanders  Galloway,  and  John  Holder,  three  young  men 
to  whom  the  girls  were  engaged  to  be  married.  This 
party  set  out  on  foot  and  with  all  the  eagerness  of  a 
well  trained  pack  of  hounds. 

They  had  gone  only  a  few  miles  when  darkness  came 
on.  They  turned  in  for  the  night  but  were  up  and  off 
again  at  the  first  peep  of  dawn.  Guided  by  the  marks 
and  signs  which  the  girls  had  left  along  the  way,  they 
plunged  on  through  the  forest  and  made  thirty  miles 
on  the  second  day.  The  next  morning  they  were  up 
again,  bright  and  early,  and  off  on  the  trail.  After 
going  a  short  distance  they  halted  as  they  saw  a  line 
of  blue  smoke  rising  over  the  trees.  Here  their  moc- 
casined  feet  trod  softly  as  they  closed  in  upon  the 
camp.  Boone  could  see  the  Indians  about  the  fire 
cooking  their  breakfast  while  the  three  girls,  tired  and 
forlorn,  were  resting  upon  the  ground  a  short  distance 
away.  The  men  closed  in  stealthily.  Boone  gave  the 
signal  and  his  men  made  a  rush  upon  the  Indians.  The 
braves,  taken  by  surprise,  had  no  time  to  tomahawk 
their  captives,  but  dived  headlong  into  the  cane  brake 
leaving  most  of  their  weapons  behind  them.  Boone 
and  his  men  fired  a  volley  after  them  and  it  is  likely 
that  some  of  the  shots  took  effect.  But  the  men  were 
so  delighted  that  they  embraced  the  girls  instead  of 
pursuing  the  Indians. 


138 


THE  MAKERS  OF  AMERICA 


"  THE  DARK  AND  BLOODY  GROUND  " 
The  fight  for  Kentucky  went  on.    For  years  there  was 
a  running  battle  between  the  white  man  and  the  Indian 
for  the  possession  of  this  beautiful  country.     The  land 

finally  became  known  as 
"The  Dark  and  Bloody 
Ground."  An  Indian  chief 
had  said  to  Boone  when  the 
treaty  of  Sycamore  Shoals 
was  signed:  "Brother,  it  is 
a  fine  land  we  sell  to  you, 
but  I  fear  you  will  find  it 
hard  to  hold."  It  turned  out 
to  be  very  hard  to  hold  and 
many  lives  were  lost  in  the 
attempt. 

In  one  instance  Boone  fell 
in  the  fight  with  his  leg 
broken  by  a  bullet,  and  a 
bloodthirsty  brave  was  upon 
him  with  a  whoop,  with  his 
axe  raised  to  give  the  bold 
backwoodsman  the  finishing 
stroke.  Simon  Kenton,  a 
young  blond  giant  from  Virginia,  was  too  quick  for  him. 
His  rifle  cracked  and  the  tomahawk  fell  from  the  harm 
less  hand.  "Well,  Simon,"  said  Boone  after  the  fight 
was  over,  "you  behaved  like  a  man."  Backwoodsmen 
were  often  sparing  of  their  words. 


SIMON  KENTON,  "THE  BLOND 
GIANT ';  or  KENTUCKY, 

who  in  his  youth  rescued  Boone, 
became  one  of  the  foremost 
pioneers  of  the  West. 


DANIEL  BOONE  I3g 

Daniel  got  into  still  more  trouble  a  little  later  on. 
A  supply  of  salt  was  necessary  to  preserve  the  meat 
supply  during  the  summer  months.  It  was  not  easy 
to  import  salt  so  the  Boonesboro  people  got  a  few  large 
kettles  and  obtained  their  supply  by  boiling  the  water 
of  the  salt  springs. 

Boonesboro  was  located  near  the  central  part  of 
Kentucky  and  in  the  northern  part,  on  the  Licking 
River,  was  a  famous  Buffalo  "lick,"  known  as  "Lower 
Blue  Lick."  To  this  Boone  and  a  small  party  of  men 
made  a  pilgrimage  for  salt  boiling  in. midwinter  of  1778. 
They  planned  on  bringing  back  with  them  a  year's 
supply.  There  was  no  great  difficulty  in  getting  to  the 
Lick,  as  the  buffaloes  had  made  a  well-beaten  path. 

Boone  and  his  men  reached  the  Lick  in  due  time  and 
settled  down  to  their  task.  The  boiling  process  con 
tinued  for  several  weeks,  and  during  that  time  the  men 
sent  back  large  quantities  of  salt  to  the  Fort.  Their 
task  was  nearly  finished  and  they  were  almost  ready 
to  return  to-  Boonesboro  when  their  leader  was  again 
taken  captive.  He  was  alone  and  about  ten  miles  from 
the  Blue  Lick  Camp,  leading  his  packhorse,  when  a 
band  of  Shawnees,  who  had  been  watching  him,  took 
him  by  surprise  in  the  midst  of  a  blinding  snowstorm. 
Boone  released  his  horse  and  ran,  dodging  and  darting 
through  the  trees.  The  Indians  proved  fleet  of  foot 
and  soon  Boone  was  captured  and  bound. 

The  Indians  took  Boone  to  their  encampment  some 
miles  away  and  then,  to  his  dismay,  he  learned  that 


140 


THE  MAKERS  OF  AMERICA 


they  were  on  their  way  to  attack  Boonesboro.  There 
were  about  one  hundred  and  twenty  braves  in  the 
band  and  Black  Fish  was  in  command. 

The  Indians  were  delighted  at  the  capture  of  such  a 
prize.  All  of  them  had  heard  of  the  great  backwoods 
man,  and  some  of  them  recognized  him  as  the  man  who 
had  escaped  from  their  clutches  several 
years  before.  They  made  merry  with 
him  and  told  him  that  he  would  not 
escape  again. 

The  Indians  then  told  Boone  that  he 
would  have  to  conduct  them  to  the  Blue 
Lick  salt  camp,  which  they  intended  to 
capture.  Boone  did  some  quick  think 
ing.  He  concluded  that  it  would  be 
better  to  have  them  attack  the  men  at 
the  salt  camp  than  the  women  and 
children  at  Boonesboro.  So  he  led 
the  way  and  later  persuaded  his  men  to  surrender  with 
out  a  fight. 

This  capture,  as  Boone  had  expected,  turned  the 
minds  of  the  Indians  away  from  Boonesboro  and  the 
entire  party  headed  for  the  Shawnee  villages  on  the 
little  Miami  River  in  the  southwestern  part  of  Ohio. 
The  trip  was  difficult.  The  weather  was  cold  and  the 
snow  deep,  and  not  much  game  ventured  out.  The 
men  became  very  hungry  and  began  to  eat  their  dogs 
and  horses.  For  several  days  they  had  nothing  to  eat 
but  slippery  elm  bark.  Much  worn  out,  they  finally 


BOONE'S 
POWDER  HORN 

Note  the  carv 
ing  on  the  horn. 


DANIEL  BOONE  141 

reached  the  camp,  near  the  present  site  of  Xenia, 
Ohio. 

From  this  place  they  took  their  prisoners  to  General 
Hamilton,  the  British  Governor  at  Detroit.  It  should 
be  remembered,  of  course,  that  all  of  this  took  place 
in  the  midst  of  the  American  Revolution.  Hamilton 
tried  to  buy  Boone  from  the  Indians  but  they  would 
not  listen  to  it.  Black  Fish,  the  great  chief,  had  de 
termined  to  take  Boone  back  to  Ohio  and  adopt  him  as 
his  own  son.  He  did  this,  and  Daniel  Boone  became 
"Big  Turtle"  of  the  Shawnees. 

The  ordeal  of  adoption  into  an  Indian  tribe  was  by 
no  means  pleasant.  The  hair  of  the  head  was  pulled 
out  by  the  roots,  with  the  exception  of  a  small  tuft 
on  the  top,  which  was  decorated  with  ribbons  in  true 
barbaric  fashion.  The  candidate  was  then  plunged  into 
the  river  and  bathed  and  his  face  was  painted  in  the 
latest  Indian  style.  Boone  was  a  skillful  actor  and 
gained  the  good  will  of  the  Indians  by  pretending  that 
he  appreciated  the  great  honor  which  was  being  con 
ferred  upon  him. 

BOONE'S  THRILLING  ESCAPE 

Boone,  in  reality,  was  thinking  more  of  escape  than 
of  honor.  His  new  father  gave  him  some  privileges. 
He  was  allowed  to  go  out  on  hunting  expeditions  and, 
when  he  did,  he  was  in  the  habit  of  hiding  away  some 
of  his  bullets  and  powder  to  be  used  when  he  made  his 
break  for  liberty. 


142  THE  MAKERS  OF  AMERICA 

:ak. 

One  day,  when  Boone  had  been  in 
captivity  for  several  months,  he  was  sent 
with  a  company  of  Indians  to  boil  salt  at 
a  spring  near  the  Scioto  River.  When 
he  returned  a  short  time  later  he  was 
surprised  to  find  Indian  braves,  with 
their  war  paint  on,  crowding  into  the 
Shawnee  village  from  all  directions.  He 
had  learned  a  little  something  of  the 
Shawnee  language  and  soon  found  that 
a  powerful  expedition  was  being  planned 
to  destroy  Boonesboro  and  other  Ken 
tucky  settlements.  Boone  felt  that  he 
must  act  instantly  to  save  his  colony,  as 
the  march  was  to  start  within  a  week. 

There  was  no  time  to  be  lost.  Boone 
must  get  back  home  to  wrarn  his  people 
at  any  cost.  He  made  his  preparations 
hastily  and  threw  the  Indians  off  their 
guard.  Early  one  morning,  about  the 
middle  of  June,  so  the  story  runs,  while 
Black  Fish  was  watching  a  flock  of  wild 
turkeys,  his  son,  Big  Turtle,  made  a 
dash  for  the  Ohio  River.  This  was  the 
beginning  of  one  of  the  most  thrilling 
races  for  life  in  human  history.  Boone 
DANIEL  BOONE'S  wante(i  to  save  the  lives  of  his  friends 

(jUN 

The  notches  show  and  Datives  and  to  do  this  "he  raced 
the  number  of  In-  through  the  forests  at  top  speed."  He 
waded  in  the  beds  of  streams  and  used 


DANIEL  BOONR  I43 

all  the  arts  of  the  backwoodsman  to  throw  his  pur 
suers  off  the  trail. 

He  reached  the  Ohio  and  found  the  river  out  of  its 
banks.  How  could  he  get  across?  Luckily  he  found 
an  old  canoe  which  had  been  abandoned  in  the  bushes. 
After  making  some  hasty  repairs  he  pushed  the  canoe 
into  the  raging  torrent  and  was  soon  on  the  Kentucky 
side. 

He  again  plunged  into  the  thicket  and  made  his  way 
towards  Boonesboro  as  fast  as  his  legs  could  carry  him. 
He  had  had  almost  nothing  to  eat  since  his  flight  began, 
as  he  did  not  wish  to  attract  the  attention  of  the  Indi 
ans  by  firing  his  gun.  He  slept  a  little  at  night  in  hollow 
logs  or  concealed  in  the  dense  underbrush.  His  legs 
and  arms  were  cut  and  torn,  and  his  feet  were  pounded 
and  battered.  He  was  faint  with  hunger  and  fatigue. 
Finally  on  the  third  day  of  his  trip  he  shot  a  buffalo 
near  the  salt  camp  where  he  had  been  captured  and 
treated  himself  to  a  good  meal  —  the  first  one  since 
his  dash  began. 

Finally,  "he  staggered  into  Boonesboro,  where  he 
was  welcomed  as  one  risen  from  the  dead."  He  had 
traveled  one  hundred  and  sixty  miles  in  four  days  and 
had  eaten  only  one  meal.  His  wife  had  long  since 
" given  him  up  for  dead,"  and  had  gone  back  to  her 
old  home  in  the  Yadkin  Valley  of  North  Carolina. 
She  and  her  family  traveled  back  tc  her  father's  house 
over  the  Wilderness  Road  which  her  husband  had 
blazed. 


144  THE  MAKERS  OF  AMERICA 

THE  ATTACK  QN  THE  FORT 

Boone  warned  his  people  and  they  prepared  for  the 
attack.  Black  Fish  and  his  men  were  rather  slow  about 
starting  and  September  came  before  the  savages  ap 
peared  outside  Boonesboro.  They  came  with  about 
four  hundred  men  under  the  command  of  Black  Fish, 
Black  Bird,  Black  Hoof,  and  other  notable  warriors. 
Boone  had  about  seventy-five  men  for  the  defense 
of  the  Fort. 

Black  Fish  came  with  fine  words  and  wanted  to  make 
a  treaty  and  take  the  fort  without  a  fight.  Boone  had 
several  parleys  with  the  chief  in  order  to  gain  time  to 
get  ready  for  the  defense.  In  the  meantime  the  cattle 
were  being  brought  into  the  Fort,  the  rifles  made  ready, 
and  a  supply  of  water  stored  up  from  a  spring  outside 
the  stockade.  When  the  talking  was  over,  Boone  told 
the  Indians  plainly  that  he  "had  determined  to  defend 
the  Fort  while  a  man  was  living." 

The  siege  began  but  the  Indians  were  not  able  to 
make  much  headway.  They  were  not  good  at  that 
kind  of  warfare.  Finally  they  resorted  to  deceit  and 
strategy.  They  tried  to  tunnel  under  the  Fort  from 
the  bank  of  the  river.  But  the  tunnel  caved  in  and 
the  Indians  gave  up  the  job  in  disgust. 

For  nine  days  and  nights  the  siege  lasted  and  the 
Indians  used  a  tremendous  amount  of  ammunition. 
The  Kentucky  men  picked  up  one  hundred  and  twenty- 
five  pounds  of  lead  about  the  stockade,  while  not  less 


DANIEL  BOONE  145 

than  one  hundred  pounds  more  were  imbedded  in  the 
logs  of  the  blockhouse.  The  Indians  made  no  further 
attempt  to  capture  the  Fort  commanded  by  Daniel 
Boone. 

Kentucky,  "The  Dark  and  Bloody  Ground,"  was 
thus  won  for  the  white  men  by  Boone  and  his  daring 
companions. 

IN  WEST  VIRGINIA  AND  MISSOURI 

After  doing  his  work  in  Kentucky,  Boone,  deeply 
in  debt,  took  his  wife  and  younger  children  and  plunged 
once  more  into  the 
backwoods.  This 
time  we  find  him  with 
his  rifle  and  traps  in 
the  forests  of  West 
Virginia.  Here  he 
took  up  his  abode  on 
the  bank  of  the  great 
Kanawha  River.  This 
was  in  1778. 

The  Boone  family 
remained  in  West  Vir 
ginia  for  about  eleven 
years.  Then  Boone  once  more,  at  the  age  of  sixty-five, 
turned  his  face  towards  the  setting  sun.  In  other  words 
he  packed  up  his  family  and  all  his  belongings  (not  very 
many)  and  crossed  the  Mississippi  River  into  Missouri. 
When  asked  why  he  moved  on  again  in  his  old  age  his 


DANIEL  BOONE'S  CABIN 

This  was  the  last  of  Boone's  cabins  in 
the  Wilderness.     It  was  in  Missouri. 


146  THE  MAKERS  OF  AMERICA 

simple  reply  was:    "Too  crowded;    I  want  more  elbow 


room." 


In  the  meantime  Boone  had  endeared  himself  very 
greatly  to  his  neighbors.  When  he  left  West  Virginia 
his  friends  gathered  on  the  bank  of  the  Kanawha  and, 
with  tears  in  their  eyes,  watched  his  little  boat  set  off 
down  stream  for  the  Ohio. 

These  people  had  known  him  for  years  as  their  store 
keeper,  friend,  neighbor,  and  protector.  They  had  also, 
on  one  occasion,  elected  him  to  represent  them  in  the 
Legislature  of  Virginia.  Faithful  to  his  duty,  he  made 
his  way  through  the  forests  and  in  due  time  appeared 
in  the  Legislative  Hall  with  his  rifle  on  his  shoulder 
and  his  faithful  dog  at  his  heels.  It  does  not  appear 
that  he  was  very  much  interested  in  the  debates  at 
Richmond  as  we  find  him  homeward  bound  in  a  very 
short  time. 

As  Boone 's  boat  went  down  the  Ohio  the  old  friends 
and  neighbors  in  Kentucky  stood  on  the  bank  arid 
shouted  and  waved  their  greetings  to  the  old  pathfinder. 
Finally  he  passed  over  the  " Father  of  Waters"  and 
built  his  last  cabin  for  Rebecca  Boone  and  himself  not 
far  from  the  present  site  of  St.  Louis. 

His  fame  had  preceeded  him  to  Missouri  and  he  soon 
became  a  leader  in  the  frontier  settlements.  He  was  a 
sort  of  Justice  of  the  Peace,  and  decided  cases  on  the 
basis  of  right.  He  didn't  know  or  care  much  about 
law  or  evidence.  When  he  found  a  man  guilty  of  an 


DANIEL  BOONE  147 

offense  he  sometimes  sentenced  him- to  be  flogged  with 
a  hickory  rod.  When  both  parties  to  the  case  seemed 
to  be  at  fault  he  ordered  both  to  be  switched.  He  also 
gave  instructions  that  the  rod  should  be  "well  laid  on." 

Boone  worked  hard  and  prospered  and  was  able  to 
pay  off  his  debts,  some  of  which  he  had  made  in  Ken 
tucky  thirty  years  before.  He  was  never  able  to  save 
much,  however,  and  at  one  time  in  Missouri  his  entire 
available  capital  was  only  fifty  cents. 

Fourteen  years  after  reaching  Missouri  Rebecca  Boone 
died.  Her  life,  on  the  whole,  had  been  one  of  love  and 
happiness  in  spite  of  its  pioneer  hardships.  Daniel 
Boone  was  now  very  lonely  and  went  to  live  with  one 
of  his  sons.  This  son,  however,  lived  in  a  stone  house 
which  was  quite  palatial  for  Missouri  in  those  days. 
Boone  preferred  the  log  cabin  with  "the  silent  challenge 
of  the  forest."  So  he  built  a  small  hut  in  his  son's 
yard  and  bunked  there  and  broiled  his  venison  steak  on 
the  end  of  a  ramrod. 

He  was  comfortable  in  this  place  but  soon  grew  rest 
less  again,  and  at  the  age  of  eighty-five  began  to  have 
visions  of  another  western  trip  —  this  time  to  California. 
His  children,  however,  and  possibly  the  grave  on  the 
river  bank  near  by,  persuaded  him  to  remain  in  Missouri. 

He  did  not  have  long  to  tarry.  He  began  to  think 
of  the  "great  adventure"  upon  which  he  must  soon  em 
bark.  He  had  no  fears,  however,  of  the  "dark  trail" 
into  the  unknown. 

His  end  came  in  the  mellow  days  of  September  — 


148  THE  MAKERS  OF  AMERICA 

just  when  the  chill  in  the  air  would  have  called  him 
out  for  a  hunting  trip.  "  Unburdened  by  the  pangs  of 
disease  he  went  out  serenely,  by  the  gentle  marches  of 
sleep,  into  the  new  country." 

He  was  buried  by  the  side  of  his  beloved  Rebecca, 
not  far  from  the  Missouri  River.  There  the  two  pio 
neers  rested  in  the  forest  calm  for  twenty-five  years.  At 
the  end  of  that  time  their  ashes  were  carried  back  to 
Kentucky  and  buried  at  Frankfort,  the  capital  of  what 
was  once  the  "The  Dark  and  Bloody  Ground."  A 
beautiful  monument  marks  the  spot.  Their  real  monu 
ment,  however,  is  this  busy,  thriving,  western  country 
which  these  two  brave  souls  had  the  courage  and 
the  hardihood  to'  penetrate  and  to  throw  open  to 
civilization. 

NOTE  —  The  reader  will  find  much  additional  information  in  regard 
to  the  opening  of  the  West  in  Bruce's  "  Daniel  Boone  and  the  Wilder 
ness  Road/'  and  in  Constance  Lindsay  Skinner's  "  Pioneers  of  the  Old 
Southwest."  Many  of  the  short  quotations  in  this  chapter  are  taken 
from  these  delightful  books. 


HINTS  AND   QUESTIONS 

1.  What  was  the  "Westward  Movement"? 

2.  In  what  different  states  did  Daniel  Boone  live? 

3.  What  was  the  first  permanent  white  settlement  in  Kentucky? 

Where  located? 

4.  How  did  Boone  make  the  "  Wilderness  Road  "? 

5.  What  was  a  "  Salt  Lick  "? 

6.  Why  was  Kentucky  called  "  The  Dark  and  Bloody  Ground  "? 

7.  Tell  one  adventure  that  Boone  had  with  the  Indians. 


DANIEL  BOONE 


149 


8.  What  happened  at  Sycamore  Shoals? 

9.  What  did  Boone  do  in  Boonesboro  ? 

10.  What  service   did  such  men  as  Daniel  Boone  and  Simon 

Kenton  render  to  this  Country? 

11.  Locate:   Cumberland  Gap,  Wilderness  Road,  Kanawha  River, 

Clinch  River. 

PRONOUNCING  LIST 

Reading     red 'ing  Scioto     si-o'to 

Allegheny     al-le-ga'ny  requiem     re'kwi-em 

Duquesne     du-kan'  Jemima    jem-l'ma 

Xenia  ze'm-a 


CHAPTER  IX 


GEORGE  ROGERS   CLARK,   THE   SAVIOR  OF  THE 
NORTHWEST 

GEORGE  ROGERS  CLARK  and  Daniel  Boone  were  alike 
in  some  ways  but  very  unlike  in  others.  Both 
were  hardy  frontiersmen.  Both  were  daring  fighters  of 

dauntless  courage.  Both  were 
men  of  iron  will.  Both  were 
born  on  the  Atlantic  sea 
board.  And,  most  important 
of  all,  the  work  of  each  was 
done  in  the  great  western 
country.  The  West  owes  a 
great  debt  to  each  of  these 
men  for  his  fine  services.  The 
service  rendered,  however, 
was  not  the  same  in  the  two 
cases. 

Boone  was  a  backwoods 
man  and  trapper  who  led  the 
way  to  an  unexplored  country,  while  Clark  was  a  mili 
tary  commander  who  conquered  a  large  tract  of  terri 
tory.  Boone  led  men  in  small  numbers  while  Clark 
commanded  an  army.  Boone  was  a  hunter  and  Clark 

150 


GEORGE  ROGERS  CLARK 

This  picture  represents  the 
"Savior  of  the  Northwest"  at 
the  height  of  his  military  career. 


GEORGE  ROGERS  CLARK  151 

a  soldier.  Boone  opened  up  the  Kentucky  country  to 
settlement  and  led  the  way,  while  Clark  conquered 
the  territory  between  the  Ohio  and  the  Mississippi  and 
added  it  to  the  domain  of  the  United  States. 

George  Rogers  Clark  was  born  in  Virginia  in  1752. 
His  birthplace  is  only  a  mile  and  a  half  from  Monti- 
cello,  the  old  home  of  Thomas  Jefferson.  The  Clark 
family  is  of  English  origin.  The  founder  of  the  family 
in  America  came  to  this  country  almost  as  early  as  the 
Pilgrim  Fathers  did.  Soon  after  coming  here,  he  mar 
ried  a  Scotch  girl  who  was  known  as  "the  red-haired 
beauty."  This  fact  may  account  for  the  large  amount 
of  red  hair  in  the  Clark  family.  The  mother  of  George 
Rogers  Clark  was  Ann  Rogers,  a  member  of  an  old  and 
prominent  Virginia  family. 

George  Rogers  Clark  was  a  member  of  a  family  of 
ten  —  six  boys  and  four  girls.  When  the  Revolutionary 
War  broke  out  several  of  the  boys  enlisted  in  the  Ameri 
can  army  for  regular  service,  while  George  Rogers  made 
a  plan  of  his  own  for  striking  the  British  in  the  North 
west.  One  of  his  brothers  joined  him  in  this  under 
taking. 

The  young  Clark  didn't  spend  very  much  time  in 
school.  He  was  a  man  of  action  rather  than  a  student. 
He  was  able  to  write  a  fairly  good  letter  but  his  spell 
ing  and  grammar  were  rather  poor.  He  was  good  in 
mathematics  and,  like  Washington,  was  quite  skillful 
as  a  surveyor. 

He  was  soon  attracted  by  the  loud  call  of  the  North- 


152  THE  MAKERS  OF  AMERICA 

west  and,  when  he  was  nineteen,  he  went  across  the 
mountains  to  explore  and  to  survey.  He  liked  the 
country  and,  apparently,  was  earning  considerable  money. 
In  a  letter  to  his  father  he  said:  "I  get  a  good  deal  of 
cash  by  surveying  on  this  river." 

Clark,  however,  was  more  of  a  soldier  than  a  sur 
veyor,  and  soon  after  this  time  (1775),  when  the  Shaw- 
nee  Indians  were  making  war  upon  Boone  and  his 
followers,  we  find  him  in  Kentucky  fighting  for  the 
settlers.  Clark's  old  friend,  Simon  Kenton,  who  saved 
Boone  from  the  Indian's  tomahawk,  was  engaged  in 
this  same  business. 

Clark  thought  the  land  in  Kentucky  the  best  in  the 
world  and  wanted  his  father  and  mother  to  move  out. 
The  Indians  were  on  the  war  path,  however,  and  his 
parents  thought  it  best  to  remain  in  Virginia  a  while 
longer. 

They  did  finally  leave  the  old  Virginia  home  and 
follow  their  sons  into  the  western  country.  They  took 
up  their  abode  at  Mulberry  Hill,  near  Louisville.  Here 
they  built  a  rude  log  cabin  with  a  chimney  on  the  out 
side.  This  cabin  was  still  standing  a  short  time  ago, 
but  was  in  a  tumble-down  condition.  It  was,  apparently, 
the  scene  of  many  Indian  attacks  and  "the  logs  are  full 
of  holes  as  a  result." 

At  this  time  Clark  was  described  as  a  man  of  fine 
appearance  and  pleasing  manners.  He  was  bold  and 
energetic  and  a  natural  leader  of  men.  So  about  the 
time  the  Declaration  of  Independence  was  signed  he 


GEORGE  ROGERS  CLARK  153 

began  to  think  less  about  getting  land  and  more  about 
the  safety  and  welfare  of  the  Kentucky  settlers. 

Kentucky,  at  this  time,  was  under  the  control  of 
Virginia  and  Clark  went  back  to  that  State  on  one 
occasion  to  look  after  the  interests  of  the  western 
settlers.  It  is  interesting  to  note  that  the  journey  was 
made  over  the  Wilderness  Road  which  Daniel  Boone 
had  cut  through  with  so  much  toil  and  suffering.  The 
trip  was  a  hard  one.  The  season  was  wet  and  Clark 
had  his  troubles.  He  lost  his  horse  and  walked  until 
his  feet  were  " blistered  and  sore."  No  wonder;  he  had 
traveled  about  seven  hundred  miles! 

Clark  was  delayed  so  long  by  the  difficulties  of  the 
trip  that  the  Virginia  Legislature  which  he  wished  to 
consult  about  Kentucky  was  not  in  session  when  he 
arrived.  He  did  the  next  best  thing,  possibly  a  better 
thing  —  he  saw  Governor  Patrick  Henry.  Henry  was 
sick  at  home  at  the  time,  but  he  met  Clark  and  listened 
to  what  he  had  to  say  about  the  Kentucky  settlers  and 
their  dangers. 

The  result  of  this  meeting  was  that  Clark  got  five 
hundred  pounds  of  powder  to  take  back  with  him  for 
the  defense  of  the  settlers  against  the  Indians.  Five 
hundred  pounds  of  powder  would  not  have  amounted 
to  much  in  the  great  World  War,  but  it  was  a  tremen 
dous  help  in  the  frontier  wars  of  Kentucky.  Clark  was 
delighted  to  get  it. 

The  Virginia  officials  delivered  the  powder  at  Pitts 
burgh  and  Clark  set  out  to  take  it  to  Kentucky  by  the 


154  THE  MAKERS  OF  AMERICA 

river  route.  This  was  a  dangerous  undertaking,  as 
hostile  Indians  were  constantly  prowling  along  both 
banks  of  the  river.  And  what  a  nice  prize  five  hundred 
pounds  of  dry  powder  would  be  for  the  Indians  to  cap 
ture!  However,  in  spite  of  the  danger,  Clark  got  a 


GEORGE  ROGERS  CLARK  AND  THE  INDIANS 

Clark  had  many  meetings  with  the  red  men  and  usually  succeeded 
in  winning  them  over  and  making  them  his  friends. 

few  good  boatmen  to  help  him  and  started  down 
stream. 

The  powder  was  conveyed  down  the  river  without 
serious  mishap,  although  the  Indians  fired  into  the 
party  several  times  from  the  bushes  along  the  banks. 

After  leaving  the  river,  Clark  and  his  men  were 
not  able  to  carry  the  powder  into  the  interior  without 


GEORGE  ROGERS  CLARK  155 

assistance.  So  they  divided  up  their  precious  burden 
and  hid  it  away  in  several  different  places.  At  a  later 
time  parties  of  men  came  out  from  the  settlements  and 
took  the  powder  to  Harrodsburg,  where  it  was  received 
with  much  rejoicing. 

Clark  now  felt  strong  enough  to  strike  out,  not  only 
against  the  Indians,  but  also  against  the  British.  The 
Revolution  was  on,  of  course,  and  British  troops  were 
stationed  at  Detroit,  Vincennes,  Kaskaskia,  and  other 
places  in  this  western  country.  Clark  felt  that  the 
British  were  inciting  the  Indians  to  make  raids  on  the 
white  settlements.  He  planned  to  put  a  stop  to  all 
this  by  striking  boldly  at  the  British  posts. 

In  the  meantime,  Clark  and  his  men  had  to  "  sleep  with 
their  eyes  open."  A  little  incident  which  occurred  at 
Harrodsburg  will  show  how  necessary  it  was  for  them  to 
be  always  on  guard.  In  the  late  summer  some  of  the 
men  were  working  in  the  field  a  short  distance  from  the 
fort.  Near  them  was  a  patch  of  high  weed§.  Not 
far  off  a  herd  of  cattle  began  to  grow  restive.  They 
looked  around  them  instead  of  grazing.  Clark  im 
mediately  suspected  what  the  trouble  was.  With  a 
small  party  of  men  he  stole  quietly  out  of  the  Fort 
and,  going  in  a  roundabout  way  through  the  woods, 
came  up  in  the  rear  of  the  patch  of  weeds.  Four  of  the 
Indians  hiding  in  the  tall  weeds  were  killed  and  the 
others  were  chased  away  to  a  big  Indian  camp  which 
Clark  and  his  men  destroyed. 

In  the  meantime,  Clark  was  getting  ready  to  march 


156  THE  MAKERS  OF  AMERICA 

against  the  British  posts.  He  had  thought  some  of 
going  back  to  Virginia  and  joining  the  American  army 
in  the  East,  but  came  to  the  conclusion  that  he  could- 
do  more  good  by  a  little  revolution  of  his  own  in  the 
western  country.  It  was  also  true  that  the  people 
of  Kentucky  had  become  very  much  attached  to  him 
and  looked  upon  him  as  their  strong  defender. 

In  order  to  get  help  for  his  expedition  against  the 
British  posts  he  made  a  trip  back  to  Virginia,  but  before 
he  started  he  promised  his  friends  in  Kentucky  that  he 
would  return  to  them. 

When  Clark  reached  Virginia  he  went  to  the  Gover 
nor,  Patrick  Henry,  and  laid  before  him  his  plans 
for  attacking  the  British.  Henry  was  favorable  to 
the  plan,  and  called  in  Thomas  Jefferson  and  two  other 
men  to  talk  the  matter  over  with  Clark  and  himself. 
The  result  was  that  Clark's  plan  was  approved  and  he 
was  given  sixty  thousand  dollars  to  carry  it  out. 

In  the  meantime,  the  whole  matter  was  to  be  kept  a 
profound  secret.  Governor  Henry  prepared  two  sets  of 
instructions  —  one  to  be  made  public,  and  the  other, 
the  real  set,  for  Clark's  guidance.  It  need  not  be  said 
that  the  public  instructions  said  nothing  whatever 
about  attacking  the  British  posts.  Clark,  of  course, 
was  very  much  pleased  to  have  his  plan  aided  and 
approved  by  Governor  Henry  and  others  in  Virginia. 

In  January  of  1778  Clark  left  Virginia  and  began  to 
recruit  men  for  his  great  undertaking.  He  got  to 
gether  a  few  men  for  the  enterprise  and  started  joyfully 


GEORGE  ROGERS  CLARK  157 

down  the  river.  They  pitched  camp  on  Corn  Island  in 
the  Ohio  River,  near  the  present  site  of  Louisville. 
Corn  Island  was  a  rather  high  spot  of  land.  Clark 
said  he  noticed  that  it  was  almost  always  above  water. 
Perhaps  it  should  be  noted  at  this  point  that  Clark  had 
not  yet  told  his  men  what  his  secret  instructions  were, 
and  they  had  no  idea  that  they  were  going  to  attack 
the  British. 

A  few  families  had  joined  Clark's  expedition  for  the 
purpose  of  establishing  a  settlement.  These  families  set 
about  to  cut  down  the  timber  and  clear  up  a  part  of 
the  cane  brake  for  their  log  cabins  and  crops.  This 
Island  has  now  completely  disappeared.  The  timber 
was  cut  off  and  the  rains  and  the  current  of  the  river 
gradually  washed  it  away. 

Clark  fortified  one  end  of  the  Island,  built  store 
houses  and  huts  and  proceeded  to  recruit  men  for  his 
expedition.  He  succeeded  in  getting  only  one  company 
of  Kentucky  men.  On  account  of  the  Indian  mutter- 
ings  it  was  not  thought  best  to  allow  more  men  to  go 
against  the  British. 

EXPEDITION  AGAINST  KASKASKIA 

Finally,  when  all  was  in  readiness,  Clark  told  his  men 
that  they  were  going  to  march  against  the  British  at 
Kaskaskia.  A  few  of  the  officers  had  undoubtedly 
known  this  before.  Most  of  the  men  received  the  news 
with  pleasure,  but  a  part  of  one  company  did  not. 
They  left  the  Island  stealthily  before  daybreak  and 


158  THE  MAKERS  OF  AMERICA 

made  tracks  for  their  forest  homes.  Clark  sent  mounted 
men  after  them,  but  they  scattered  through  the  woods 
and  all  escaped  capture  with  the  exception  of  a  very 
few  who  were  brought  back  to  the  camp  in  a  most  dis 
tressed  condition. 

Clark  made  up  his  mind  that  he  ought  to  have  about 
five  hundred  men  in  order  to  make  his  expedition  a 
success.  He  could  muster  only  one  hundred  and 
seventy-five,  however,  but  this  did  not  seem  to  dis 
courage  him.  He  was  determined  to  push  on.  "I 
knew  my  case  was  desperate,"  he  said,  "but  the  more 
I  reflected  on  my  weakness,  the  more  I  was  pleased 
with  the  enterprise." 

At  the  proper  time  Clark  let  out  the  rest  of  his 
secret  by  saying,  "We  start  at  dawn  tomorrow  morn 
ing."  There  was  great  excitement  on  the  Island  and  sad 
farewells  were  tearfully  said.  The  timid  men  had,  for 
the  most  part,  backed  out  and  those  remaining  were 
ready  for  "glory  or  the  grave." 

It  was  a  bright  morning  on  the  24th  of  June,  1778, 
when  Clark's  men  took  to  their  boats.  They  must  have 
been  somewhat  nervous  and  perhaps  were  made  more 
so  when  the  heavens  were  darkened  by  an  almost  total 
eclipse  of  the  sun.  The  little  company  went  up  the 
river  about  a  mile  in  order  to  get  into  the  main  channel, 
and  then  Clark  tells  us,  "We  shot  the  falls  at  the  very 
moment  of  the  sun  being  in  a  great  eclipse." 

They  pressed  on  with  all  speed,  running  day  and 
night  for  four  days,  with  different  sets  of  boatmen 


GEORGE  ROGERS  CLARK  159 

Finally  the  company  landed,  hid  the  boats,  and 
went  the  rest  of  the  way  to  Kaskaskia  overland. 
The  trip  was  a  very  difficult  one  as  the  men  had  no 
horses  or  wagons  or  other  means  of  conveying  the  bag 
gage,  aside  from  their  own  sturdy  backs.  In  this  way 
they  pushed  on  for  six  days  through  brush  and  over 


GEORGE  ROGERS  CLARK  CAPTURES  KASKASKIA 

He  appeared  unexpectedly  at  a  ball  and  quietly  told  the  dancers 
what  his  errand  was. 

swamps  until,  on  the  evening  of  August  4,  they  came 
in  sight  of  Kaskaskia. 

About  midnight  Clark  and  his  men  entered  the  town 
without  being  seen  by  the  sentinels.  Inside  the  Fort 
a  merry  dance  was  going  on.  Clark  is  said  to  have 
walked  in  and  told  the  dancers  to  keep  right  on  but  to 
remember  that  they  were  now  dancing  under  the  con 
trol  of  Virginia  and  not  of  Great  Britain. 


160  THE  MAKERS  OF  AMERICA 

Simon  Kenton,  the  powerful  giant  from  Virginia, 
went  to  the  bed  where  the  Governor  was  peacefully 
sleeping  and  quietly  placed  him  under  arrest.  And  so 
Kaskaskia,  the  famous  British  post  on  the  Mississippi, 
fell  into  the  hands  of  the  Americans  without  striking 
a  blow. 

It  might  be  well  to  remember  that  Kaskaskia  was 
originally  a  French  post  and  that  now  most  of  its 
inhabitants  were  French.  Father  Gibault,  the  wise 
and  kindly  Roman  Catholic  Priest,  was  the  most  in 
fluential  man  at  the  post  aside  from  the  military  officers. 
Clark  gained  the  confidence  of  the  good  Father  and 
from  this  time  on  he  was  "a  tower  of  strength  to  the 
Americans." 

The  British  in  command  of  the  place  had  told  the 
inhabitants  of  the  post  that  in  case  of  their  capture 
by  the  Americans  they  should  expect  no  mercy.  Now 
that  they  were  in  the  hands  of  Clark  and  his  men  the 
people  were  greatly  terrified.  They  were  expecting  the 
worst. 

On  this  occasion  Clark  showed  himself  to  be  a  really 
great  man.  He  soon  found  that  the  people  of  the  post 
did  not  know  anything  about  the  real  causes  of  the 
American  Revolution.  The  British  had  kept  them  in 
ignorance  or  had  misled  them.  Clark  now  explained 
the  whole  matter  to  the  people  in  a  plain  and  simple 
way.  He  said  he  had  no  desire  to  punish  them  in  any 
way,  and  that  if  they  would  show  their  loyalty  to  the 
American  cause,  they  would  have  the  protection  of  the 


GEORGE  ROGERS  CLARK 


161 


American  Government  and  all  the  privileges  of  Ameri 
can  citizens.  "No  sooner  had  they  heard  this,"  said 
Clark,  "than  they  fell  into  transports  of  joy  that  really 
surprised  me." 

Clark  was,  of  course,  greatly  pleased  and  told  them 
that  he  would  give  them  the  oath  of  fidelity  in  a  few 
days,  after  they  had  had  time  to  think  it  over.  They 


FORT  CLARK 

thought  it  over  and  gladly  accepted  the  American 
terms. 

As  a  matter  of  fact,  the  people  of  these  French  posts 
had  no  great  love  for  their  British  masters,  and  were 
glad  enough  to  support  the  American  cause.  Kaskaskia 
then,  with  its  two  hundred  and  fifty  families,  became 
Fort  Clark. 

Clark   was   still   full   of   fight   and   energy.      On   the 


1 62  TEE  MAKERS  OF  AMERICA 

evening  of  the  day  upon  which  Kaskaskia  surrendered 
he  sent  one  of  his  officers  with  thirty  mounted  men  to 
capture  three  other  posts  lying  to  the  north  and  west. 
These  men,  almost  worn  out  by  fatigue  and  lack  of 
sleep,  surprised  the  posts  and  captured  them  very 
easily.  The  most  important  of  these  was  Cahokia  which, 
with  its  one  hundred  families,  stood  near  the  present 
site  of  St.  Louis. 

In  the  meantime,  Father  Gibault  was  a  great  help  in 
bringing  the  Americans  and  the  French  together.  He 
told  his  people  of  the  treaty  which  France  had  made 
with  the  colonies  and  this  helped  to  win  them  over. 
In  their  backwoods  homes  the  news  of  the  treaty  had 
not  reached  them  before. 

Father  Gibault  did  another  good  service.  Clark's 
eyes  were  upon  Vincennes  as  the  most  important  of  all 
the  British  posts.  Father  Gibault  thought  that  by 
explaining  matters  to  the  French  people  at  that  post  he 
could  persuade  them  to  come  over  to  the  American  side. 
With  a  small  party  of  men  he  set  out  and  soon  entered 
the  town  on  the  Wabash.  He  was  well  known  and 
well  liked  at  Vincennes,  and  soon  the  Indians  were  sur 
prised  at  seeing  the  American  flag  floating  over  the 
Fort.  They  could  not  understand  it. 

In  the  meantime,  the  British  General  Hamilton  at 
Detroit  had  heard  of  the  loss  of  Vincennes.  He  wanted 
to  regain  it  and  set  out  with  five  or  six  hundred  men 
for  that  purpose.  The  Americans,  who  had  only  three 
or  four  men  for  the  defense  of  the  fort,  surrendered 


GEORGE  ROGERS  CLARK  163 

"with  the  honors  of  war"  in  December  of  1778.  The 
British  had  marched  six  hundred  miles  in  seventy-two 
days  in  order  to  reach  the  post. 

The  news  of  the  capture  of  Vincennes  reached  Clark 
sometime  in  the  following  month,  and  he  made  plans  at 
once  for  its  recovery.  He  had  only  two  hundred  men 
-  one  hundred  Americans  and  one  hundred  Frenchmen. 
He  knew  that  Hamilton  would  capture  him  in  the  spring 
if  he  did  not  capture  Hamilton  first.  There  was  no  time 
for  delay.  He  planned  a  march  across  the  entire  state 
of  Illinois  through  mud,  ice,  snow,  and  sleet  to  the  post 
on  the  Wabash.  Father  Gibault,  as  usual,  was  "the 
power  behind  the  throne." 

THE  MARCH  AGAINST  VINCENNES 

Finally  on  February  5,  1779,  General  Clark  with  his 
brave  band,  after  receiving  the  blessing  of  Father  Gi 
bault,  started  against  Vincennes.  It  was  a  great  day  at 
Kaskaskia.  Everybody  turned  out  to  see  the  soldiers 
of!  on  their  march  of  two  hundred  and  thirty  miles. 

A  few  days  later  they  came  to  a  river  which  they 
crossed  on  trees  felled  for  that  purpose.  The  river  was 
too  deep  for  fording.  After  getting  across  they  encamped 
on  the  bank  without  tents  in  the  winter  rain. 

The  great  level  plain  was  a  sea  of  water  and  in  some 
instances  the  horses  were  obliged  to  swim.  Clark  did 
all  sorts  of  things  to  keep  up  the  spirits  of  his  men,  and 
often  had  them  singing  marching  songs.  When  they 
found  a  small  piece  of  high  land  they  thought  they  were 


1 64  THE  MAKERS  OF  AMERICA 

extremely  lucky  and  pitched  camp  for  the  night.  One 
morning  on  starting  out  they  had  to  break  ice  one-half 
to  three-quarters  of  an  inch  in  thickness  in  order  to  wade 
through. 

While  Clark  encouraged  his  men  in  every  possible  way 
he  was  a  stern  commander.  One  time,  when  his  men 
were  in  the  water,  he  ordered  one  of  his  Majors,  with 
twenty-five  men,  to  bring  up  the  rear  and  shoot  down 
any  man  who  tried  to  turn  back.  In  one  instance  Clark 
tells  us  that  the  water  was  up  to  his  shoulder  and  that 
the  men  were  compelled  to  steady  themselves  by  taking 
hold  of  the  bushes  and  trees  along  the  line  of  march. 

One  day,  when  they  were  chilled  through,  half  starved 
and  nearly  exhausted,  an  Indian  canoe  loaded  with  buf 
falo  meat  and  other  provisions  came  into  sight.  The 
canoe  was  promptly  seized  and  hot  buffalo  broth  refreshed 
the  worn-out  soldiers. 

When  Clark  was  about  two  miles  from  Vincennes  he 
wrote  a  letter  to  the  people  of  the  village  and  told  them 
"to  keep  out  of  the  streets,"  as  there  was  likely  to  be 
trouble.  He  said:  "•!  am  determined  to  take  your  fort 
this  night  and  I  am  now  only  two  miles  away."  He  ad 
vised  all  "friends  to  the  king"  to  join  "the  hair-buyer 
General."  He  always  called  General  Hamilton  "the 
hair-buyer"  because  it  was  said  that  he  bought  the 
scalps  of  white  men  brought  in  by  the  Indians. 

Clark  watched  his  messenger  go  into  the  town  with 
this  letter,  and  then,  with  his  field  glasses  a  few  moments 
later,  he  saw  people  rushing  about  the  streets  in  great 


GEORGE  ROGERS  CLARK  165 

excitement.  He  said  in  his  letter  that  he  was  not  willing 
to  surprise  the  town,  but  he  had,  apparently,  given  them 
a  tremendous  surprise. 

Clark  wrote  in  his  diary:  "A  little  before  sunrise  we 
moved,  and  displayed  ourselves  in  full  view  of  the  town, 
crowds  gazing  at  us. "  He  expected  to  see  the  fort  bristle 
up,  but  it  did  not  do  so.  There  were  no  signs  of  life. 

Finally,  Clark  opened  fire  on  the  fort.  Even  then  the 
British  did  not  suspect  what  was  going  on.  They 
thought  that  a  party  of  drunken  Indians  was  saluting 
them.  But  when  one  of  their  men  was  shot  down,  the 
drums  began  to  roar  and  the  garrison  was  aroused  to 
action.  Clark  later  found  that  his  letter  had  been  posted 
up  in  the  town  but  that  no  one  had  told  the  soldiers  in 
the  fort  a  single  word  about  it. 

Clark  kept  up  the  firing  from  about  eight  o'clock  in 
the  evening  until  nine  o'clock  the  following  morning. 
During  this  time  his  men  were  not  more  than  thirty 
yards  from  the  walls  of  the  fort,  but  they  lay  in  pro 
tected  places.  They  were  also  such  experts  with  the  rifle 
that  they  picked  off  any  man  who  appeared  in  an  open 
ing  of  the  fort  to  fire  a  gun. 

Clark  then  sent  Hamilton  a  letter  demanding  his  sur 
render  and  saying  that  if  he  were  compelled  to  take  the 
fort  by  storm  he  might  expect  "such  treatment  as  is 
justly  due  to  a  murderer." 

To  this  Hamilton  quietly  replied  that  he  was  "not  dis 
posed  to  be  awed"  into  taking  any  step  which  was  \iot 
worthy  of  a  British  officer. 


166  THE  MAKERS  OF  AMERICA 

The  firing  then  began  again  and  finally  Hamilton  pro 
posed  that  he  and  Clark  have  a  meeting  and  talk  the 
matter  over.  This  was  done,  and  as  a  result  Hamilton 
surrendered  the  fort  and  his  men  as  prisoners  of  war. 

Clark  had  one  man  wounded  and  none  killed.  The  sur 
render  was  arranged  on  the  afternoon  of  February  24, 
1779.  On  the  morning  of  the  25th,  at  ten  o'clock,  the 
fort  was  turned  over  to  General  Clark. 

Clark  had  now  wrested  the  whole  of  the  territory  be 
tween  the  Ohio  and  the  Mississippi  Rivers  from  the 
British  and  made  it  a  part  of  the  United  States  of  Amer 
ica.  "He  followed  the  trail  of  the  buffalo,  and  civi 
lization  followed  him." 

The  Legislature  of  Virginia  passed  a  resolution  thank 
ing  Clark  for  his  services  in  conquering  this  Northwest 
Territory  and  the  people  of  the  United  States  have  been 
thanking  him  ever  since. 

Clark  remained  in  the  active  service  of  his  country 
until  the  close  of  the  Revolution.  He  was  then  relieved 
of  his  command  by  Virginia  in  1783.  He  had  given  the 
best  years  of  his  life  and  money  out  of  his  own  pocket 
to  his  country's  cause.  In  return  for  this  he  received 
almost  nothing. 

The  Virginia  Legislature  did  grant  to  him  and  his 
men  150,000  acres  of  land  in  the  southern  part  of  Indi 
ana,  and  of  this  area  Clark  obtained  about  8,000  acres. 
He  didn't  get  much  out  of  his  land,  however,  and  for 
several  years  before  his  death  he  lived  in  disappointment 


GEORGE  ROGERS  CLARK 


167 


and   poverty.      He    felt    that    this    country    had   been 
ungrateful. 

The  iron  frame  which  had  withstood  the  hardships  of 
the  Illinois  swamps  in  mid 
winter  now  broke  down  under 
the  weight  of  his  disappoint 
ment.  He  lived  in  retire 
ment,  took  no  interest  in 
public  affairs,  and  tried  to 
drown  his  sorrows  with  liquor. 

He  never  married  and  lived 
much  of  his  time  alone  in  an 
out-of-the-way  cabin.  Here 
he  had  a  stroke  of  paralysis 
and  fell  over  against  the  fire 
place  in  such  a  way  as  to  burn 
one  of  his  legs  severely.  The 
leg  was  afterwards  ampu 
tated.  Anaesthetics,  of 
course,  were  not  known  in 
those  days  and  General  Clark 
ordered  that  drums  and  fifes 
be  played  while  the  operation 
was  being  performed.  In  the 
meantime,  he  bore  up  bravely, 
beating  time  with  his  fingers 
to  the  drums  and  fifes.  He  died  at  the  home  of  his 
sister,  near  LouisviUe,  Kentucky,  in  1818,  at  the  age  of 
sixty-five. 


STATUE  OF  GEORGE  ROGERS 

CLARK,  IN  INDIANAPOLIS 
Notice   the   inscription   at   the 
base. 


1 68  THE  MAKERS  OF  AMERICA 

There  is  a  fine  monument  to  the  memory  of  George 
Rogers  Clark  at  Monument  Place,  Indianapolis,  bearing 
this  inscription: 

GENERAL 
GEORGE   ROGERS   CLARK 

CONQUEROR 
OF   THE    COUNTRY 

NORTHWEST   OF   THE   RIVER   OHIO 

FROM   THE    BRITISH 

1778-9 

HINTS  AND   QUESTIONS 

1.  What  was  the  great  service  of  George  Rogers  Clark? 

2.  What  did  Patrick  Henry  have  to  do  with  the  work  of  Clark? 

3.  In  what  way  did  Father  Gibault  help  General  Clark? 

4.  Trace   on   the   map   the   line   of   march  from  Kaskaskia   to 

Vincennes. 

5.  Why  was  the  capture  of  Vincennes  important? 

6.  Why  did  Clark  think  that  his  country  was  ungrateful? 

7.  Read  Thompson's  "  Alice  of  Old  Vincennes." 

PRONOUNCING  LIST 

Gibault    zhe-bo' 
Cahokia      ka-ho'ki-a 
anaesthetics     an-es-thet'iks 


CHAPTER  X 

"LONG    LIVE    GEORGE    WASHINGTON, 
PRESIDENT   OF  THE   UNITED   STATES" 

THE  INAUGURATION 

WE  HAVE  already  noticed  that  a  body  of  leading  men 
met  in  Philadelphia  in  the  summer  of  1787  to  make  a  new 
Constitution  for  the  United  States.  These  men  met  in 
Independence  Hall,  where  the  Declaration  of  Independ 
ence  had  been  signed  a  few  years  before.  Washington 
was  the  president  of  this  Convention  and  Benjamin 
Franklin,  Alexander  Hamilton,  James  Madison,  and 
other  great  American  leaders  were  members  of  it. 

These  men  worked  hard  during  the  hot  months  of  the 
summer  and  finally  the  Constitution  was  finished  on 
September  17,  1787.  This  date  is  now  celebrated  in  all 
parts  of  the  United  States  as  " Constitution  Day." 

After  the  Constitution  was  completed  it  had  to  be 
sent  around  to  the  various  states  for  their  approval.  We 
now  think  a  great  deal  of  our  Constitution  but  at  that 
time  many  good  men  were  strongly  opposed  to  it.  Pat 
rick  Henry,  for  example,  tried  very  hard  to  have  it 
thrown  overboard.  But  Washington,  Franklin,  Hamil 
ton,  Madison,  and  others  were  in  favor  of  it  and  the 
thirteen  states  finally  agreed  to  accept  it. 

169 


1 70  THE  MAKERS  OF  AMERICA 

It  was  arranged  that  the  new  form  of  government  should 
go  into  effect  on  March  4,  1789.  This  was  a  very  im 
portant  event.  On  the  afternoon  of  March  3  the  guns 
in  New  York  harbor  fired  a  farewell  salute  to  the  old 
form  of  government.  On  the  following  morning  the 
same  guns  fired  another  salute  to  the  new  government 
and  church  bells  all  over  the  city  rang  out  in  honor  of 
the  great  event. 

Not  much  of  anything  else,  however,  was  done  on 
March  4.  Things  moved  slowly  in  those  days.  Roads 
were  very  poor,  and  men  could  not  travel  over  them 
very  rapidly.  Many  of  the  rivers  had  no  bridges  and 
crossing  on  the  ice  or  on  rafts  or  by  fording  was  both 
dangerous  and  slow.  The  mail  crept  along  at  a  snail's 
pace.  So,  the  members  of  Congress  were  tardy  in  arriv 
ing  in  New  York,  the  seat  of  the  government. 

Finally  the  members  arrived,  or  a  sufficient  number  of 
them,  and  the  Electoral  votes  were  counted.  It  was 
found  that  Washington  had  been  elected  President  and 
John  Adams,  a  cousin  of  Samuel,  Vice-president.  Wash 
ington  received  every  vote  that  was  cast. 

A  messenger  was  sent  at  once  to  Mount  Vernon  to 
notify  him  of  his  election.  Washington  knew  that  he 
was  going  to  be  elected  and  had  everything  about  ready 
to  depart  for  New  York. 

About  ten  o'clock  on  the  morning  of  April  16  Wash 
ington  mounted  his  horse  and  set  out  once  more  to  serve 
his  country.  He  was  not  lonesome  on  this  long  journey. 
Crowds  of  people  stood  by  the  road-side  all  the  way  from 


LONG  LIVE  GEORGE  WASHINGTON 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON 
First  in  War,  First  in  Peace,  First  in  the  hearts  of  his  countrymen.' 


172 


THE  MAKERS  OF  AMERICA 


Mount  Vernon  to  New  York  and  greeted  him  as  he 
passed.  He  was,  no  doubt,  very  much  pleased;  but  he 
dreaded  the  duties  of  his  office  as  no  one  had  been  Presi 
dent  before. 

One  sunny  afternoon  he  arrived  at  the  bank  of  the 

Delaware  River  where  he  had 
crossed  a  few  years  before 
in  order  to  strike  the  British 
at  Trenton.  The  scene  was 
changed  now.  It  was  a 
beautiful  spring  day.  There 
was  no  wind,  no  sleet,  no 
blocks  of  floating  ice,  no  inky 
darkness.  Instead  of  all  this, 
a  great  arch  had  been  placed 
on  the  bridge  at  Trenton  with 
the  inscription:  "The  defen 
der  of  the  mothers  will  be  the 
protector  of  the  daughters." 
As  he  passed  underneath  the 
arch  a  number  of  young  girls, 
dressed  in  white  and  with 
wreathes  upon  their  heads, 
scattered  flowers  in  his  path 
way  while  singing  an  ode  expressing  their  love  and  grati 
tude.  Washington  was  greatly  touched  and  often  spoke 
in  the  tenderest  terms  of  the  "white-robed  choir"  at 
Trenton. 

On  the  3oth  of  April,  and  soon  after  his  arrival  in  New 


JOHN  ADAMS 

John  Adams  was  a  school 
teacher  and  lawyer  of  Massa 
chusetts.  He  helped  to  draft 
the  Declaration  of  Independ 
ence  and  was  the  first  Vice-pres 
ident  and  the  second  President 
of  the  United  States.  He  was 
a  cousin  of  Samuel  Adams. 


LONG  LIVE  GEORGE  WASHINGTON 


173 


York,  he  took  the  oath  of  office.    Great  crowds  of  people 
came  to  the  inauguration.     Services  were  held  in  all  the 
churches   of   the   city   in   the   forenoon   and   at   twelve 
o'clock  the  inauguration  took  place. 
Washington  rode  to  the  place  of  meeting  in  a  coach 


WASHINGTON'S  FIRST  INAUGURATION 


This  scene  represents  the  balcony  of  Federal  Hall,  New  York.  It 
was  here  that  Robert  Livingston  called  out:  ''Long  live  George 
Washington,  President  of  the  United  States." 

drawn  by  four  fine  horses  in  beautifully  decorated  har 
ness.  He  was  always  fond  of  good  horses  and  his  ani 
mals  had  splendid  care.  The  head  groom  was  in  the 
habit  of  rubbing  the  animals  with  a  clean  linen  handker 
chief  and  if  he  found  any  dirt  the  stable  boys  had  to  do 
their  work  over  again. 


174  THE  MAKERS  OF  AMERICA 

The  white  horses  were  given  particular  care.  The 
night  before  they  were  to  be  driven  they  were  daubed 
with  a  coat  of  whiting  and  then  wrapped  up  for  the 
night.  In  the  morning  the  wrappings  were  removed  and 
the  dry  paste  was  rubbed  off  and  their  bodies  were  pol 
ished.  In  this  way  their  coats  were  made  white  and 
glossy.  Their  hoofs  were  blackened  and  polished  and 
their  teeth  brushed  and  then  they  were  ready  for  the 
harness.  Washington  liked  to  have  everything  in  good 
style. 

Washington  and  a  few  of  the  men  at  the  inauguration 
stood  on  the  balcony  of  Federal  Hall  while  thousands  of 
people  thronged  the  streets  below.  When  the  new  Presi 
dent  had  taken  the  oath  of  office,  Mr.  Livingston  of  New 
York  stepped  forward  on  the  balcony  and  shouted: 
"Long  live  George  Washington,  President  of  the  United 
States." 

The  people  in  the  streets  sent  up  a  mighty  shout. 
The  flag  was  run  up  and  the  guns  of  the  harbor  fired 
the  first  presidential  salute.  This  was  one  of  the  most 
notable  scenes  in  the  whole  history  of  the  United  States. 

THE  CAPITAL  CITY 

EVERY  nation  must  have  a  capital  city.  The  United 
States  did  not  have  a  permanent  capital  when  Washing 
ton  was  made  President.  The  headquarters  of  the  gov 
ernment  had  been  placed  for  the  time  being  in  New 
York,  then  a  city  of  about  thirty  thousand  people. 
Federal  Hall,  the  most  beautiful  and  most  artistic  public 


LONG  LIVE  GEORGE  WASHINGTON 


175 


building  in  America,  had  recently  been  completed  and 
presented  to  Congress  by  the  city.  The  architect  of  the 
building  was  the  same  French  engineer  who,  at  a  later 
time,  laid  out  the  City  of  Washington.  The  interior  of 
the  building  was  beautifully  decorated  and  handsomely 


SECOND  INAUGURATION  OF  WASHINGTON,  1793 
This  took  place  in  the  State  House  at  Philadelphia. 

furnished.    In  this  exquisite  setting  the  new  government 
of  the  United  States  began  its  career. 

The  permanent  capital  had  not  yet  been  located. 
Several  places  had  been  mentioned  and  the  new  capital  was 
much  sought  after.  It  was  finally  arranged  that  the  seat 
of  the  government  should  remain  in  New  York  until 
1790.  It  was  then  to  be  removed  to  Philadelphia  to  remain 


176  THE  MAKERS  OF  AMERICA 

for  ten  years.  In  the  meantime,  Congress  had  located 
the  District  of  Columbia,  in  its  present  site  on  the 
Potomac  River. 

A  good  deal  had  to  be  done  in  order  to  build  a  capital 

in  the  wilderness.  The 
land  was  obtained  from 
Virginia  and  Maryland, 
and  arrangements  were 
made  with  the  farmers 
and  others  who  owned 
it.  It  was  then  sur 
veyed,  and  Major 
L'Enfant,  the  French 
engineer  who  had 
planned  Federal  Hall, 
was  employed  to  lay  out 
the  new  city. 

The  Major  did  his 
work  in  a  splendid  way. 
He  provided  for  broad 
streets,  magnificent 


THE  DISTRICT  OF  COLUMBIA 

This  map  shows  the  original  bounda 
ries  of  the  District.  The  land  was 
ceded  to  the  National  Government  by 
Maryland  and  Virginia.  In  1846  the 
land  on  the  Virginia  side  of  the  river 
was  given  back  to  that  state  because 
it  was  not  needed  by  the  National 
Government.  The  Potomac  River,  in 
this  part  of  its  course,  is  entirely 
within  the  District.  Usually  a 
boundary  line  runs  down  the  tenter 
of  a  river,  but  this  is  not  the  case 
here.  Do  you  see  any  reason  for  this 
unusual  arrangement? 


avenues,  spacious  parks, 
and  a  great  many  open 
"squares"  and  "  cir 
cles."  More  than  one- 
half  the  area  of  the  city  is  now  given  over  to  streets  and 
parks  as  against  one-fourth  of  the  area  in  the  City  of 
Paris. 

The  building  of  the  White  House,  or  the  home  of  the 


LONG  LIVE  GEORGE   WASHINGTON 


177 


President,  was  begun  in  1792  and  the  corner  stone  of 
the  great  Capitol  building  was  laid  by  Washington  in  the 
following  year.  These  fine  buildings  must  have  presented 
a  strange  and  ghost-like  appearance  in  the  midst  of  a 
dense  wilderness.  They  were  magnificent  structures  but 
people  were  obliged  to 
wind  their  way  about, 
among  the  trees  and 
slush,  and  through 
miry  paths,  in  order 
to  reach  them. 

The  President  want 
ed  to  have  the  new 
Capital  named  The 
Federal  City,  but  the 
committee  having  the 
matter  in  charge 
named  it  Washington, 
in  honor  of  the  first 
citizen  of  the  Republic. 

A  few  of  the  buildings  were  partly  finished  in  1800 
and  in  that  year  the  Capital  was  moved  from  Philadel 
phia  to  Washington.  John  Adams  was  President  of  the 
United  States  at  the  time.  Thomas  Jefferson  was  the 
first  President  to  be  inaugurated  in  the  City  of  Wash 
ington. 

When  President  John  Adams  and  his  good  wife  Abigail 
moved  into  the  WTiite  House  they  didn't  find  it  a  very 
comfortable  home.  The  house  was  not  finished  and  was 


THE  WHITE  HOUSE  IN  1799 

This  picture  represents  the  White  House 
a  short  time  before  John  and  Abigail 
Adams  moved  into  it. 


i78 


THE  MAKERS  OF  AMERICA 


uncomfortably  furnished.  Mrs.  Adams  remarked  that 
while  they  were  living  in  the  midst  of  a  dense  forest 
wood  for  fuel  was  very  scarce. 

She  did,  however,  have  one  convenience  which  the 
lady  of  the  White  House  no  longer  enjoys.    She  was  in 


THE  WHITE  HOUSE  TODAY 

This  is  the  home  of  the  President  of  the  United  States.    It  has 
been  greatly  changed  since  the  days  of  President  John  Adams, 


the  habit  of  hanging  up  her  laundry  to  dry  in  one  of  the 
unfinished  rooms  when  the  weather  outside  was  not 
favorable  for  that  purpose. 

The  Adamses  must  have  noticed  a  great  difference  be 
tween  Philadelphia  and  Washington.  Philadelphia  was 
a  place  of  70,000  people  and  was  the  largest  city  in  the 


LONG  LIVE  GEORGE  WASHINGTON  179 

United  States.     It  had  many  conveniences  which  the 
new  Capital  could  not  possibly  have. 

Washington  has  changed  very  greatly  since  the  days 
of  John  and  Abigail  Adams.  It  is  now  one  of  the  most 
beautiful  Capital  cities  in  the  world.  Its  broad  streets, 
smooth  pavements,  beautiful  parks,  fine  statuary,  mag- 


THE  CAPITOL  BUILDING  AT  WASHINGTON,  D.  C. 

The  Senate  Chamber  is  in  one  wing  and  the  House  Chamber  in  the 
other.    Between  them  is  the  magnificent  dome  with  its  fine  paintings. 

nificent  public  buildings,  and  artistic  private  dwellings 
all  combine  to  make  it  a  notable  city. 

When  you  go  to  Washington  you  will  wish  to  take  a 
ride  around  the  city  and  visit  the  Capitol  building  where 
Congress  meets,  and  the  White  House  where  the  Presi 
dent  lives.  You  will  also  wish  to  visit  the  library  build 
ing  which  contains  one  of  the  largest  and  finest  collec 
tions  of  books  in  the  world.  Rock  River  Park  where  the 


i8o  THE  MAKERS  OF  AMERICA 

Presidents  like  to  drive  will  be  found  delightful.  And,  of 
course,  you  will  not  miss  seeing  the  great  Washington 
monument  five  hundred  and  fifty  feet  high.  This  im 
mense  shaft  was  built  in  honor  of  George  Washington 
from  materials  furnished  by  the  different  states.  An 
elevator  will  take  you  to  the  top  but  you  can  walk  up  the 
winding  stairway  on  the  inside  if  you  think  your  legs 
can  stand  it. 

After  having  done  all  this  you  will  wish  to  take  the 
boat  and  ride  fifteen  miles  down  the  Potomac  River  to 
Mount  Vernon.  Here  you  will  find  the  delightful  home 
place  of  George  Washington  with  the  buildings  and  gar 
dens  kept  much  as  they  were  when  the  father  of  his 
country  loved  to  ramble  about  the  plantation. 

HINTS   AND   QUESTIONS 

1.  What  is  "  Constitution  Day  "? 

2.  Why    was    Washington    inaugurated    on    the    30th    of    April 

instead  of  the  4th  of  March? 

3.  In  which  three  cities  has  the  seat  of  the  Government  of  the 

United  States  been  located? 

4.  Who   was   the   first    President   inaugurated    in    Washington, 

D.  C.? 

5.  If   you   have    seen    the    City   of  Washington,   write   a    short 

essay  about  it. 

PRONOUNCING   LIST 
L'Enfant     lan'fan 


CHAPTER  XI 


ELI  WHITNEY  AND   THE  COTTON   PLANTATION 

THERE  are  many  great  names  in  American  history 
that  are  not  connected  with  war  or  politics.  One  oi 
these  is  that  of  Eli 
Whitney,  the  school 
teacher  and  inventor. 
Whitney  lived  in 
Washington's  time 
and  invented  the  cot 
ton  gin.  The  cotton 
gin  is  a  machine  for 
separating  the  cotton 
seed  from  the  fiber  or 
the  woolly  part  of  the 
plant.  Before  Whit 
ney's  time  this  work 
was  done  by  hand  and 
was  a  very  slow  and 
tiresome  process. 

Eli  Whitney  was 
born  in  Massachusetts  in  the  year  that  the  English  Parlia 
ment  passed  the  Stamp  Act.  He  was  graduated  from 
Yale  College  at  the  age  of  twenty-seven.  While  in 
college  he  worked  hard  at  all  sorts  of  jobs  in  order  to  get 

181 


ELI  WHITNEY,  THE  INVENTOR  OF 
THE  COTTON  GIN 


182 


THE  MAKERS  OF  AMERICA 


money  to  pay  his  expenses.  This  may  possibly  account 
for  the  fact  that  he  was  not  very  young  when  he  finished 
his  course. 

After  leaving  college  he  went  to  Georgia  to  teach  the 
children  of  a  wealthy  planter.  For  some  reason  or  other 

he  did  not  take  up  his 
teaching  work  at  once 
but  went  to  live  in  the 
home  of  Mrs.  Na- 
thanael  Greene,  widow 
of  the  famous  Revolu 
tionary  General.  Whit 
ney  was  a  natural 
mechanic  with  an  in 
ventive  turn  of  mind 
and  soon  began  to  make 
things.  Mrs.  Greene 
saw  his  ability  and  en 
couraged  him  to  con 
tinue. 

One  day  some  people  who  were  dining  at  the  home  of 
Mrs.  Greene  were  talking  about  the  difficulty  of  separa 
ting  the  cotton  seed  from  the  fiber.  They  also  said  they 
were  sorry  that  there  was  no  machine  to  do  the  work. 
"Apply  to  my  young  friend  here,"  said  Mrs.  Greene,  "he 
can  make  anything."  The  men  talked  it  over  with  Whit 
ney  and  he  became  interested  at  once.  He  had  never 
seen  a  cotton  seed  before  coming  to  Georgia  but  he  was 
willing  to  learn. 


ELI  WHITNEY'S  COTTON  GIN 

This  is  the  little  machine  which  did 
the  work  of  a  thousand  persons.  The 
gins  of  the  present  day  are  much 
larger  and  are  run  by  steam  or  elec 
tricity. 


ELI  WHITNEY  AND   THE  COTTON  PLANTATION     183 

He  soon  worked  out  a  plan  for  a  machine.  He  had  to 
start  on  his  problem  from  the  very  beginning.  He  pro 
cured  a  cotton  plant  with  the  seed  in  the  woolly  fiber 
and  began  to  study  it. 

He  then  picked  up  a  few  crude  tools  about  the  house. 


WHITNEY'S  COTTON  GIN  SOMEWHAT  ENLARGED 

He  made  a  few  others.  He  had  to  do  much  of  this  work 
by  hand.  He  had  to  draw  his  own  wire  as  none  could  be 
purchased  even  in  Savannah. 

He  finally  made  a  simple  machine,  the  principle  of 
which  is  still  in  use  in  the  South.     He  had  a  cylinder 


1 84 


THE  MAKERS  OF  AMERICA 


which  was  made  to  revolve  by  means  of  a  hand  crank. 
On  the  cylinder  were  rows  of  saw-like  teeth.  When  the 
cylinder  was  made  to  revolve  it  pulled  the  fibers  of  cot- 


PICKING  COTTON 

It  takes  a  large  number  of  people  to  pick  the  fleecy  cotton  from 
the  plant.     This  is  a  scene  in  the  state  of  Arkansas. 

ton  through  holes  in  a  plate  placed  a  short  distance  above 
it.  These  holes  would  permit  the  fiber  to  pass  through  but 
were  too  small  for  the  seeds.  These  were  consequently 
scraped  off  and  remained  on  the  upper  side  of  the  plate. 


ELI   WHITNEY  AND   THE  COTTON  PLANTATION     185 

It  was  considered  a  good  day's  work  for  a  person  to 
pick  the  seeds  from  a  pound  of  cotton  by  hand.  Whit 
ney's  machine,  even  in  its  crude  form,  could  clean  a 
thousand  pounds  in  the  same  length  of  time.  By 
attaching  a  two-horse  power  to  it  it  could  clean  five 
times  that  amount.  The  steam  gins  in  the  South  now 
clean  the  cotton  with  wonderful  rapidity. 

Whitney's  invention  increased  very  greatly  the  amount 
of  cotton  raised  in  the  United  States.  The  production  of 
cotton  had  been  held  back  by  the  slow  and  expensive 
process  of  cleaning  it  by  hand.  The  number  of  acres 
planted  to  cotton  was  now  increased  many  fold,  and  Eli 
Whitney  may  be  looked  upon  as  the  father  of  the  cotton 
plantation.  It  was  his  invention  which  made  possible 
the  great  plantations  in  the  South  where  thousands  of 
rollicking  negroes  pick  cotton  to  be  shipped  to  Europe. 
Whitney's  invention  in  the  course  of  time  reduced  the 
price  of  cotton  cloth  from  a  dollar  and  a  half  a  yard  to 
a  few  cents.  At  this  price  cotton  cloth  was  placed  within 
reach  of  almost  everybody. 

The  gin  also  revived  the  institution  of  slavery.  It 
made  slavery  more  popular  because  slave  labor  was 
necessary  to  the  production  of  cotton  on  a  large  scale. 
Before  Whitney  made  his  invention,  slavery  was  gradu 
ally  dying  out  in  all  parts  of  the  United  States.  In  a 
word  then,  it  was  Whitney's  invention,  more  than 
anything  else,  that  placed  "King  Cotton"  on  the 
throne. 

Inventors  very  often,  for  some  reason  or  other,  re- 


i86 


THE  MAKERS  OF  AMERICA 


ceive  very  little  profit  from  their  inventions.  This  was 
the  case  with  Eli  Whitney.  We  shall  see  later  the  cause 
of  this. 

Whitney  was  naturally  very  proud  of  his  useful  ma 
chine.  Mrs.  Greene 
was  proud  of  it  also 
and  she  invited  a  few 
friends  to  come  to  her 
home  to  see  it  work. 
They  were  all  delight 
ed  and  praised  the 
young  inventor 
highly. 

In  the  meantime,  a 
young  man  named 
Miller,  who  had  been 
in  college  with  Whit 
ney,  came  to  Georgia 
and  became  the  hus 
band  of  Mrs.  Greene. 
Miller  had  some 

Compare  this  giant  gin  with  Eli  Whit-  money  and  Whitney 
ney's.  This  one  is  located  in  Dallas,  had  a  valuable  ma- 
Texas,  a  busy  and  progressive  city.  ,  .  , , 

chine,    so  the   two 

men  went  into  partnership  to  manufacture  the  cotton 
gins, 

Whitney  had  not  yet  obtained  a  patent  on  his  machine 
and  so  the  gin  was  carefully  kept  under  lock  and  key. 
He  did,  however,  exhibit  it  proudly  to  planters  who  came 


A  MODERN  COTTON  GIN 


ELI  WHITNEY  AND   THE  COTTON  PLANTATION     187 

from  miles  around  to  see  a  machine  which  could  do  the 
work  of  a  thousand  men. 

The  people  evidently  liked  the  cotton  gin.  One  night 
they  broke  into  Whitney's  workshop  and  carried  away 
his  prize.  Soon  after  this  cotton  gins,  copied  after  Whit 
ney's,  were  at  work  in  different  parts  of  the  state.  Some 
of  them  were  turned  by  hand,  others  by  horses  or  oxen, 
and  still  others  by  water  power. 

Whitney  in  the  meantime  had  obtained  a  patent  from 
the  government.  He  then  brought  suit  against  those 
who  were  making  use  of  his  invention.  He  didn't  get 
much  satisfaction.  As  a  rule  he  was  cheated  out  of  the 
fruits  of  his  labor.  People,  apparently,  preferred  to  get 
the  use  of  the  machine  for  nothing.  He  did  obtain 
fifty  thousand  dollars  from  the  state  of  South  Carolina 
and  a  little  something  from  North  Carolina.  But  this 
was  about  all  used  up  in  paying  the  costs  of  lawsuits. 

In  1812  he  asked  to  have  his  patent  renewed  on  the 
ground  that  he  had  received  little  benefit  from  it.  In 
this  application  he  said  that  the  money  which  he  had 
received  "did  not  equal  the  amount  saved  by  his  ma 
chines  in  one  hour."  His  application  was  denied. 

After  this  he  went  back  home  to  New  Haven,  Con 
necticut,  and  made  a  fortune  by  making  firearms  for  the 
government  during  the  war  of  1812  with  England.  He 
died  at  his  home  in  New  Haven  at  the  age  of  sixty. 

Whitney  was  a  benefactor  to  mankind,  but,  like  most 
inventors,  he  did  not  reap  much  financial  profit  from  his 
labors. 


i88  THE  MAKERS  OF  AMERICA 

HINTS   AND   QUESTIONS 

1.  Where   was  Eli  Whitney   born?     Where   did   he   make   his 

great  invention? 

2.  What   was    the    connection    between    the    Cotton    Gin    and 

Slavery? 

3.  What  trouble  did  Whitney  have  about  his  patent? 

4.  How  much  cotton   could  be   separated   from  the  seeds  by 

hand  in  a  day  by  one  person  before  Whitney  invented  the 
gin? 
6.  How  much  could  be  separated  with  the  use  of  the  gin? 


CHAPTER  XII 

THOMAS   JEFFERSON,    "  THE   MAN   OF  THE 
PEOPLE  " 

The  American  people  took  Jefferson  into  their  hearts 
as  they  have  never  taken  any  other  statesman  until 
Lincoln  in  these  latter  days. 

—  JOHN  FISKE 

WE  HAVE  already  made  the  acquaintance  of  Thomas 
Jefferson.  We  recall  him  most  distinctly  perhaps  as  the 
author  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence.  He  was  also 
the  third  President  of  the  United  States  and  the  first 
President  to  be  inaugurated  in  the  City  of  Washington. 

Thomas  Jefferson  was  descended  from  an  old  Welsh 
family  which  came  to  Virginia  at  a  very  early  time  - 
before  the  Pilgrim  Fathers  landed  on  Plymouth  Rock. 

Thomas  was  the  third  child  in  a  family  of  ten.  His 
father,  Peter  Jefferson,  was  a  leader  in  the  community. 
He  was  a  man  of  quick  intelligence  and  great  physical 
strength. 

Peter  Jefferson's  family  was  in  very  easy  circum 
stances  and  lived  on  a  farm  of  about  2,000  acres  which 
was  tilled  by  30  slaves. 

Thomas  Jefferson  went  to  the  country  school  near  his 
home  and  was  later  graduated  from  William  and  Mary 

189 


igo  THE  MAKERS  OF  AMERICA 

College  at  Williamsburg,  Virginia,  the  second  oldest  col 
lege  in  the  United  States.  Later  he  studied  law  and  was 
lawyer  and  farmer  at  the  same  time,  until  he  abandoned 
both  professions  to  enter  public  office. 

When  he  was  twenty-nine  years  of  age  he  married 
Martha,  the  daughter  of  John  Wayles,  a  prominent  Vir 
ginia  lawyer.  Wayles  died  soon  after  and  Mrs.  Jefferson 
inherited  an  estate  of  4,000  acres  with  135  slaves. 

The  Jeffersons  now  had  a  very  comfortable  family  in 
come.  Even  before  this  inheritance  Thomas  Jefferson 
had  an  income  of  about  three  thousand  dollars  per  year 
from  his  law  practice  and  two  thousand  dollars  from  his 
land.  This  was  a  rather  large  income  for  a  family  in 
Virginia  in  those  days.  It  might  easily  have  been  larger 
but  Jefferson,  unlike  Washington,  was  not  a  very  good 
business  man.  He  took  care  of  public  affairs  very  much 
better  than  he  did  of  private  affairs. 

Thomas  Jefferson,  next  to  Franklin,  could  do  more 
things  well  than  any  other  man  in  the  history  of  the 
public  life  of  the  United  States.  He  was  very  successful 
as  our  representative  in  Europe;  he  was  fairly  success 
ful  as  President  of  the  United  States;  he  was  a  leader 
in  education;  he  was  a  student  of  science,  literature, 
and  religion;  he  introduced  better  methods  in  agri 
culture;  and  as  a  political  leader  he  was  unsurpassed. 
In  addition  to  all  of  this  he  was  a  splendid  mathemati 
cian,  an  easy  writer  of  good  and  forceful  English,  and  a 
violinist  of  considerable  ability. 

Jefferson,  probably,  took  a  more  keen  delight  in  agri- 


THOMAS  JEFFERSON,  "THE  MAN  OF  THE  PEOPLE 


THOMAS  JEFFERSON 

Jefferson  was  prominent  for  forty  years  in  the  public  life  of  the 
United  States.  The  motto  on  his  seal  was  "  Rebellion  to  tyrants 
is  obedience  to  God." 


IQ2  THE  MAKERS  OF  AMERICA 

culture  than  in  anything  else.  He  was  always  inventing 
things  and  trying  to  find  better  ways  of  farming.  He 
also  searched  all  over  the  world  for  new  seeds  and  new 
plants.  "The  greatest  service,"  he  once  said,  "which 
can  be  rendered  to  any  country,  is  to  add  a  useful  plant 
to  its  culture.7'  Acting  upon  this  idea  he  brought  olive 
plants  from  France  and  a  new  kind  of  rice  from  Africa, 
and  introduced  them  into  the  plantations  of  Georgia 
and  South  Carolina. 

Jefferson  was  also  the  inventor  of  the  "first  scientific 
plow."  Before  his  time  the  old  wooden  plow  was  large 
ly  in  use  and  farmers  were  afraid  to  use  the  iron  plow 
because  they  thought  it  would  poison  the  soil  and  kill 
the  crops.  Jefferson  had  no  such  fear.  But  it  took  all 
of  his  persuasion  and  influence  to  induce  the  farmer  to 
use  the  new  and  better  kind  of  plow. 

He  also  imported  the  first  threshing  machine  ever  seen 
in  Virginia  and  carried  on  experiments  with  other  imple 
ments  of  various  kinds. 

Jefferson  was  always  very  fond  of  agriculture  and  liked 
those  engaged  in  it.  When  he  was  about  to  enter 
public  office  as  a  young  man  he  said  that  he  would  never 
"wear  any  other  character  than  that  of  a  farmer." 
"Cultivators  of  the  earth,"  he  said,  "are  the  most  valu 
able  citizens."  At  another  time  he  wrote :  "Those  who 
labor  in  the  earth  are  the  chosen  people  of  God." 

It  is  rather  disappointing  to  find  that,  in  spite  of  his 
love  for  the  land,  Jefferson  was  not  able  to  raise  more 
than  six  or  eight  bushels  of  wheat  to  the  acre.  This, 


THOMAS  JEFFERSON,  "THE  MAN  OF  THE  PEOPLE"  193 

however,  was  probably  more  than  the  average  yield  for 
the  entire  state  at  that  time.  Agricultural  methods  were 
very  poor  and  much  of  the  soil  had  been  worn  out  by 
tobacco  crops. 

Jefferson  was  always  working  on  something  which  prom 
ised  to  be  a  help  to  the  people.  It  has  been  said  that 
he  "ran  riot  in  schemes  for  conferring  practical  benefits 
on  mankind."  He  not  only  did  things  himself  but  he 
encouraged  such  men  as  Eli  Whitney  and  Robert 
Fulton  who  had  an  inventive  genius. 

He  also  took  a  very  lively  interest  in  education,  which 
was  rather  backward  at  the  time,  and  was  the  founder 
of  the  University  of  Virginia. 

While  he  liked  the  farmer  he  did  not  care  much  for 
the  mechanic  or  the  manufacturer.  He  loved  the  open 
country  but  he  disliked  the  city.  He  was  plain  and 
simple  in  dress  and  manners  and  scorned  all  show  and 
ceremony.  He  had  faith  in  the  wisdom  and  good  sense 
of  the  masses  of  the  people  and  always  said  that  they 
should  control  the  government. 

In  personal  appearance  Jefferson'  was  an  impressive 
man  but  by  no  means  a  handsome  one.  He  was  six  feet 
two  and  one-half  inches  tall,  and  muscular  as  well. 
When  he  was  President  he  was  described  as:  "A  tall 
man,  with  a  very  red,  freckled  face,  and  gray  neglected 
hair  ....  He  wore  a  blue  coat,  green  velveteen 
breeches  with  pearl  buttons,  yarn  stockings,  and  slippers 
down  at  the  heels,  —  his  appearance  being  very  much 
like  that  of  a  tall,  large-boned  farmer." 


194 


THE  MAKERS  OF  AMERICA 


Jefferson  grew  old  gracefully  and  when  he  left  the 
White  House  he  returned  to  his  beautiful  country  estate 
called  Monticello,  situated  near  Charlottesville,  Virginia. 


MONTICELLO,    THE   OLD    HOME   OF   THOMAS   JEFFERSON 

Thousands  of  people  from  all  parts  of  the  world  made 
pilgrimages  to  Monticello  to  see  Thomas  Jefferson  and 
possibly  to  speak  a  word  with  him.  He  died  there  on 
July  4,  1826  —  the  fiftieth  anniversary  of  the  Decla 
ration  of  Independence.  During  his  last  illness  it  was 
his  hope  that  he  might  be  permitted  to  live  until  the 
dawn  of  the  4th  of  July. 

He  died  at  one  o'clock  in  the  afternoon.  John  Adams 
passed  away  a  few  hours  later  and  his  last  words  were: 
"Thomas  Jefferson  still  lives."  He  did  not  know  that 
his  old  friend  had  gone  on  before. 


THOMAS  JEFFERSON,  "THE  MAN  OF  THE  PEOPLE"  195 

Thomas  Jefferson  lies  buried  at  Monticello  and  the 
shaft  over  his  grave  bears  this  inscription,  written  by 
Jefferson  himself: 

"Here  was  buried  Thomas  Jefferson,  author  of  the 
Declaration  of  American  Independence,  of  the  Statute 
of  Virginia  for  religious  freedom,  and  father  of  the 
University  of  Virginia. " 

JEFFERSON  AND  THE  LOUISIANA  PURCHASE 

The  purchase  of  Louisiana  was  a  diplomatic  triumph  of  the 
first  magnitude.  No  American  negotiators  ever  acquired  so  much 
for  so  little. 

-  ALLEN  JOHNSON 

The  territory  of  the  United  States  was  doubled  during 
the  time  that  Jefferson  was  President.  By  the  treaty  of 
1783  with  Great  Britain  the  western  boundary  had  been 
placed  at  the  Mississippi  River.  Now  Jefferson  pur 
chased  from  France  all  of  that  vast  territory  extending 
from  the  Mississippi  River  to  the  Rocky  Mountains  and 
to  the  Canadian  boundary  on  the  north.  This  was 
known  as  the  " Louisiana  Territory." 

In  one  respect  the  work  of  Jefferson  was  like  that  of 
George  Rogers  Clark.  Clark  added  the  Northwest 
Territory  to  the  domain  of  the  United  States  and  Jef 
ferson  added  the  Louisiana  Territory.  They  used  dif 
ferent  methods,  however.  Clark  obtained  his  addition 
by  conquest  and  Jefferson  got  his  by  purchase.  The 
United  States  was  growing  very  rapidly  for  an  infant 
nation. 


THOMAS  JEFFERSON,11  THE  MAN  OF   THE  PEOPLE"     197 

This  territory  between  the  Mississippi  River  and  the 
Rocky  Mountains  has  had  a  very  interesting  history. 
It  changed  hands  many  times.  To  begin  with,  of  course, 
it  was  in  the  possession  of  the  Indian.  He  roamed 
over  it  at  will  and  there  was  no  one  to  interfere  with 
him.  After  a  time,  however,  the  Frenchmen  came.  Their 
great  explorers,  Champlain,  LaSalle,  Father  Marquette, 
and  others  traversed  the  country  from  the  Great  Lakes 
to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  and  took  possession  of  it  in  the 
name  of  the  King  of  France.  They  set  up  rude  crosses 
and  buried  plates  made  of  lead  with  French  inscriptions 
upon  them  in  order  to  hold  their  claims.  That  was  not 
really  a  very  good  way  to  lay  claim  to  the  heart  of  a 
continent,  but  that  is  the  way  the  French  did  it. 

Sometime  later  this  territory  fell  into  the  hands  of 
Spain.  In  the  French  and  Indian  war,  or  the  Seven 
Years  War,  as  they  called  it  in  Europe,  Spain  helped 
France  against  England.  As  her  reward  she  received  the 
Louisiana  Territory  by  the  treaty  of  1763. 

Not  very  long  after  this  time,  Spain  gave  the  territory 
back  to  France  by  secret  treaty.  So,  when  Jefferson  be 
came  President,  France  again  owned  this  tract  of  land 
west  of  the  Mississippi  River. 

Why  did  the  people  of  the  United  States  want  this 
great  area  of  wild  land?  Did  they  need  more  land  for 
farming?  Were  they  becoming  crowded?  Had  all  the 
land  been  filled  which  Daniel  Boone  and  George  Rogers 
Clark  had  opened  up  to  settlement?  No,  these  were  not 
the  reasons.  There  was  still  wild  land  enough  for  every- 


198  THE  MAKERS  OF  AMERICA 

body  on  the  east  side  of  the  great  river.  As  a  matter  of 
fact  Jefferson  made  no  attempt  at  first  to  purchase  all  of 
this  territory.  He  simply  wanted  a  small  amount  of 
land  near  the  mouth  of  the  Mississippi  River,  where  the 
City  of  New  Orleans  now  stands. 

Now  why  did  the  Americans  want  this  land  about  the 
mouth  of  the  River?  Of  what  use  would  it  be  to  them? 
It  will  require  some  explanation  to  answer  these  ques 
tions. 

The  Americans  were  now  raising  large  amounts  of 
agricultural  products  to  be  shipped  to  Europe.  There 
were  two  outlets  for  these  products.  Some  of  them  were 
shipped  from  ports  on  the  Atlantic  Ocean  and  others 
were  sent  down  the  Mississippi  River  to  the  Gulf  of 
Mexico. 

After  the  close  of  the  American  Revolution  the  West 
had  developed  quite  rapidly.  Many  settlers  had  pushed 
out  towards  the  Mississippi  River,  following  in  the  foot 
steps  of  Daniel  Boone  and  Simon  Kenton.  These  men 
cut  away  the  forest,  broke  up  the  soil,  and  raised  abun 
dant  crops.  They  had  to  get  these  crops  to  the  market 
and  were  in  the  habit  of  using  the  Mississippi  River  for 
this  purpose. 

In  a  single  year  the  farmers  of  Kentucky,  Tennessee, 
and  Ohio  had  sent  down  the  Mississippi  River  "one 
hundred  and  twenty  thousand  pounds  of  tobacco,  ten 
thousand  barrels  of  flour,  twenty-two  thousand  pounds 
of  hemp,  five  hundred  barrels  of  cider,  and  as  many  more 
of  whiskey."  This  "down  river"  commerce  was  increas- 


THOMAS  JEFFERSON,'1  THE  MAN  OF   THE  PEOPLE"     199 

ing  all  the  time  and  was  very  important  to  the  western 
farmer.  It  would,  of  course,  have  been  impossible  for 
him  to  haul  his  products  overland  to  an  Atlantic  sea 
port. 

These  products  were  brought  down  the  river  on  rafts, 
barges,  and  small  boats  of  all  kinds  and  then  put  on 
board  large,  ocean-going  sailing  vessels,  bound  for  Europe. 
It  was  thus  necessary  to  have  a.  place  near  the  mouth  of 
the  river  where  goods  could  be  landed  and  stored  until 
the  big  boats  were  ready  to  take  them  to  Europe.  For 
this  purpose  Spain  had  granted  us  a  "right  of  deposit," 
as  it  was  called,  or  the  right  to  land  goods  for  a  time  on 
Spanish  territory.  Now  that  France  owned  the  land  she 
might  deny  this  privilege  to  the  Americans. 

It  should  be  remembered  also  that  France  owned  the 
land  on  both  sides  of  the  river  at  its  mouth.  The  Loui 
siana  Territory  was  not  all  on  the  west  side  of  the  Mis 
sissippi.  It  also  included  the  land  on  the  east  side  of 
the  river  upon  which  the  City  of  New  Orleans  is  located. 

So  when  it  became  known  that  France  again  owned 
this  territory  the  western  farmers  were  much  interested. 
In  fact  they  were  greatly  excited  and  made  plans  to 
seize  the  mouth  of  the  river  by  force  in  case  the  French 
refused  to  sell.  In  their  rough-and-ready  way  they  said: 
"Let  us  take  what  we  want  by  force  of  arms  and  then 
make  a  treaty  with  France  about  it  afterwards." 

Jefferson,  of  course,  would  rather  purchase  the  land 
than  take  it  by  force.  Our  Minister  to  France  was  Mr. 
Robert  R.  Livingston,  who  had  administered  the  oath 


20O 


THE  MAKERS  OF  AMERICA 


of  office  to  Washington  when  he  became  President. 
Jefferson  instructed  Livingston  to  buy,  if  possible,  a 
suitable  area  near  the  mouth  of  the  river.  The  great 
Napoleon  was  at  the  head  of  France  and  Livingston  took 

up  the  matter  with 
one  of  his  ministers. 
Napoleon  absolutely 
refused  to  sell  a  single 
inch  of  French  terri 
tory  in  America. 
Livingston  could 
make  no  headway. 
He  was  up  against  a 
stone  wall. 

Jefferson  then 
appointed  James 
Monroe,  who  later 
became  President  of 
the  United  States,  to 
go  to  France  and  help 
Livingston.  Monroe 
had  spent  some  time 
in  France  and  the 
French  people  were 
Suddenly  a  great  change  took 


JAMES  MONROE 

James  Monroe  was  President  of  the 
United  States  for  two  terms.  It  was  he 
who  told  the  Europeans  that  they  could 
make  no  more  settlements  on  the  Ameri 
can  continents.  He  also  said  that  they 
should  not  interfere  with  any  of  the 
governments  in  America.  This  is  called 
the  Monroe  Doctrine. 

very  fond  of  him. 
place  almost  in  the  twinkling  of  an  eye.  Napoleon's 
minister  met  Livingston  one  day  and  said  to  him: 
"Would  you  care  to  buy  the  whole  Louisiana  Territory 
and,  if  so,  what  price  would  you  be  willing  to  pay  for  it  ?  " 


THOMAS  JEFFERSON,  "THE  MAN  OF   THE  PEOPLE"     201 

This  question  almost  took  Livingston's  breath  away. 
Here  was  land  enough  for  an  Empire  "  tossed  into  his 
lap."  He  had  no  authority  to  buy  this  vast  tract  and 
no  money  to  pay  for  it.  He  knew  also  that  the  United 
States  didn't  really  need  the  whole  territory.  Monroe 
had  not  yet  arrived  and  he  had  no  one  to  talk  the 
matter  over  with. 

Fortunately,  Monroe  reached  Paris  on  the  very  next 
day  and  Livingston  obtained  some  comfort.  Even  then 
the  two  men  didn't  know  quite  what  to  make  of  it.  They 
couldn't  understand  why  Napoleon,  who  had  refused 
emphatically  to  sell  a  very  small  piece  of  land,  should 
now  offer  the  entire  territory  for  sale.  They  thought 
possibly  that  the  French  were  trying  to  play  a  trick  on 
them. 

This  sudden  change  on  Napoleon's  part  was  fully  ex 
plained  sometime  later.  It  was  all  simple  enough.  He 
had  heard  that  the  English  were  about  to  send  a  large 
army  to  take  the  territory  from  France  by  force  and  he 
made  up  his  mind  that  he  would  rather  sell,  or  even 
give,  the  land  to  the  United  States,  than  have  it  fall 
into  the  hands  of  his  old  enemy  England.  He  could  also 
use  the  money  to  good  advantage  in  carrying  on  his 
wars. 

Livingston  and  Monroe  thought  the  opportunity  too 
good  to  be  lost.  They  concluded  to  take  the  risk  and 
buy  the  territory.  They  did  so  in  a  treaty  signed  April 
30,  1803.  In  this  treaty  they  agreed  to  pay  France 
$15,000,000  for  the  land. 


202  THE  MAKERS  OF  AMERICA 

Thus  by  a  few  strokes  of  the  pen  the  western  bound 
ary  of  the  United  States  was  pushed  out  to  the  Rocky 
Mountains  and  the  area  of  the  country  was  doubled. 
The  area  of  the  new  territory  was  larger  than  the  com- 


CELEBRATING  THE  LOUISIANA  PURCHASE,  1803 

The  people  were  delighted  to  see  the  stars  and  stripes  floating  over 
the  Territory. 

bined  areas  of  Great  Britain,  Germany,  France,  Spain, 
Portugal,  and  Italy. 

After  the  treaty  was  signed  Livingston  remarked, 
"We  have  lived  long,  but  this  is  the  noblest  work  of  our 
lives." 


THOMAS  JEFFERSON,  " THE  MAN  OF   THE  PEOPLE"     203 

LEWIS  AND  CLARK  AND  THE  FAR  WEST 
When  you  buy  a  large  farm  you  like  to  tramp  around 
and  look  it  over.  President  Jefferson  had  purchased  a 
very  extensive  farm  west  of  the  Mississippi  River  but 
did  not  know  very  much  about  it.  Neither  did  anyone 
else.  There  were  vast  stretches  into  which  no  white  man 
had  ever  penetrated.  Parts  of  it  were  not  known  even 
to  the  Indians. 

Jefferson  presented  a  report  to  Congress  after  the  pur 
chase  was  made  and  tried  to  tell  the  members  something 
about  the  far-away  territory.  He  had  a  very  difficult 
time.  There  was  not  very  much  to  tell.  He  pieced  to 
gether  all  that  he  could  get  from  books  and  from  the 
stories  of  travelers.  But  this  was  not  very  much  and  a 
a  good  deal  of  it  was  not  true.  He  then  made  up  his 
mind  to  send  out  explorers  and  find  out  something 
definite  about  his  new  purchase. 

The  men  sent  on  this  important  expedition  were  Meri- 
wether  Lewis  and  William  Clark,  brother  of  the  famous 
George  Rogers  Clark. 

Meriwether  Lewis  was  a  member  of  a  good,  old  Vir 
ginia  family  which  had  rendered  fine  service  to  the 
country.  The  young  Lewis  was  a  natural  hunter  and 
explorer  even  from  early  boyhood.  When  he  was  only 
eight  years  old  he  was  in  the  habit  of  going  out  into  the 
woods  alone  "in  the  dead  of  night"  to  hunt  with  his 
dogs.  He  did  this,  too,  in  all  kinds  of  weather  and 
seemed  to  be  as  happy  in  the  driving  snow  as  in  the 
balmy  sunshine. 


2O4 


THE  MAKERS  OF  AMERICA 


He  attended  school  until  he  was  eighteen  and  then 
went  back  to  the  farm  and  took  a  delight  in  studying 
both  plants  and  animals. 

At  the  age  of  twenty  he  went  into  the  military  service 
of  the  United  States  and  at  twenty-three  was  made  a 


WESTERN  EXPLORATION 

This  map  shows  the  trail  of  Lewis  and  Clark  on  their  famous  expedition 
to  the  Pacific  Coast.  It  also  shows  the  two  expeditions  made  by  Zebulon 
Pike  about  the  same  time. 


captain.  He  also  served  for  a  time  as  President  Jef 
ferson's  private  secretary.  Lewis  was  thus  well  qualified 
to  do  the  task  assigned  to  him  by  the  President. 

William  Clark,  second  in  command  to  Lewis,  was 
another  Virginian  and  also  a  military  man.  Like  his 
brother,  George  Rogers  Clark,  he  was  familiar  with  the 


THOMAS  JEFFERSON, "THE  MAN  OF   THE  PEOPLE"     205 

habits  and  traits  of  the  Indian  and  this  knowledge  was 
of  constant  use  on  his  western  journey. 

Before  starting  out  on  their  trip  across  the  continent 
the  men  read  everything  they  could  find  in  regard  to  the 
country.  This,  of  course,  was  not  very  much. 

The  two  men  with  their  helpers  set  out  and  got  as  far 
as  Cahokia  on  the  Mississippi  River  —  the  old  post 
which  George  Rogers  Clark  had  captured  during  the 
Revolution.  It  was  then  December  (1803)  and  the  men 
found  it  impossible  to  go  farther  until  spring.  Conse 
quently  they  went  into  camp  for  the  winter  in  what  is 
now  the  state  of  Illinois  at  a  point  opposite  the  mouth  of 
the  Missouri  River. 

Their  instructions  were  to  go  up  the  Missouri  River, 
cross  the  mountains,  and  go  down  one  of  the  rivers  lead 
ing  to  the  Pacific  Ocean.  They  were  also  to  make  a 
study  of  Indian  life  and  of  the  geographical  features  of 
the  country.  They  were  to  observe  the  plants  and  ani 
mals  along  the  route  and  write  down  notes  about  all  they 
saw.  They  were  instructed  to  take  particular  notice  of 
the  number  and  variety  of  fur-bearing  animals. 

In  May  of  the  following  year  (1804)  the  men  broke 
camp  and  started  up  the  Missouri  River  in  three  boats. 
Before  winter  set  in  they  reached  Mandan,  in  what  is 
now  the  state  of  North  Dakota.  Here  they  pitched 
camp. 

In  the  spring  (1805)  they  started  up  the  river  again, 
across  North  Dakota  and  Montana  to  the  headwaters  of 
the  Missouri  River  in  the  Bitter  Root  Mountains. 


206 


THE  MAKERS  OF  AMERICA 


They  then  crossed  the  ridge  (sometimes  called  the 
"Great  Divide")  and  hunted  about  for  a  stream  to  take 
them  to  the  Pacific.  They  finally  stumbled  upon  the 
Clear  Water  River.  This  brought  them  to  the  Snake 


EXPEDITION  OF  LEWIS  AND  CLARK 

Lewis  and  Clark  passed  through  some  of  the  most  beautiful  scenery 
in  the  world.  They  were  astonished  by  the  wonderful  views  at 
almost  every  bend  of  the  river. 

River.  Going  down  the  Snake  River  they  came  to  the 
Columbia  and  were  then  on  the  highway  to  the  Pacific. 
Late  in  the  fall  they  "saw  the  waves  like  small  moun 
tains  rolling  out  in  the  sea."  They  had  now  reached 
the  western  boundary  of  the  continent  and  here,  on  the 


THOMAS  JEFFERSON,  "THE  MAN  OF   THE  PEOPLE"     207 

shores  of  that  ocean  which  Magellan  had  crossed  many 
years  before,  and  which  Balboa  had  discovered  in  1513, 
they  pitched  their  camp  for  the  winter. 

In  the  following  spring  (1806)  the  party  started  back 
east  but  soon  divided  into  two  parts.  Lewis  was  in 
command  of  one  and  Clark  of  the  other.  In  the  early 
fall  of  that  year  both  parts  of  the  expedition  reached  the 
present  site  of  St.  Louis.  Here  ended  one  of  the  most 
noted  and  valuable  exploring  expeditions  in  American 
history. 

ZEBULON  PIKE 

Other  men  besides  Lewis  and  Clark  were  roaming  over 
the  new  continent  in  those  days.  One  of  these  was 
Zebulon  Pike. 

At  the  time  that  Lewis  and  Clark  started  up  the  Mis 
souri  (1804)  Pike  left  St.  Louis  and  ascended  the  Mis 
sissippi.  He  pushed  on  almost  to  the  source  of  that 
great  river  and  ran  up  an  American  flag  on  a  trading 
post  in  the  northern  part  of  what  is  now  the  state  of 
Minnesota. 

In  the  following  year  he  went  up  the  Arkansas  River 
and  finally  came  to  the  mountain  peak  which  bears  his 
name.  He  then  explored  the  Rio  Grande,  was  captured 
by  the  Spanish,  and  finally  made  his  way  to  the  interest 
ing  old  town  of  Santa  Fe. 

ANDREW  JACKSON,  THE  FRONTIER  STATESMAN 
More  important  perhaps  than  any  of  these  frontiersmen 
was  Andrew  Jackson  "The  Hero  of  New  Orleans. " 


208 


THE  MAKERS  OF  AMERICA 


We  have  already  met  Andrew  Jackson  at  the  Bat 
tle  of  Hanging  Rock  where,  as  a  boy  of  thirteen, 
he  was  fighting  for  the  Independence  of  the  United 
States. 

We  find  him  again  in  the  War  of  1812,  or  the  second 

war  with  Great  Britain.  The 
Creek  Indians  in  what  is  now 
the  state  of  Alabama  had 
been  stirred  up  to  attack  the 
whites  by  Tecumseh,  the 
famous  Indian  chief.  The 
white  men  took  up  arms  and 
killed  about  one-fifth  of  the 
whole  Creek  tribe.  It  was  in 
this  war  that  Andrew  Jack 
son  won  the  Battle  of  Horse 
shoe  Bend  on  the  Tallapoosa 
River.  Some  of  the  braves 
fled  to  Florida  and  the  rest 
ceded  a  large  area  of  land  in 
Georgia  and  Alabama  to 
General  Jackson.  This 

opened   up  a  vast   tract   to  white   men  for  settlement, 
and  Jackson  became  a  great  hero. 

Later  in  the  war  he  won  a  still  more  important  victory. 
On  January  8,  1815,  he  defeated  the  British  in  the 
famous  battle  of  New  Orleans.  The  British  lost  more 
than  2,000  men  while  Jackson's  loss  was  about  70.  It 
is  a  peculiar  fact  that  this  battle  was  fought  after  the 


ANDREW  JACKSON 

This  picture  represents  the 
"Hero  of  New  Orleans"  in  his 
old  age.  He  was  called  "Old 
Hickory"  on  account  of  his  un 
bending  qualities. 


THOMAS  JEFFERSON,  "THE  MAN  OF   THE  PEOPLE"    209 

treaty  of  peace  was  agreed  upon  by  Great  Britain  and  the 
United  States.  Jackson  knew  nothing  about  this  treaty 
and  just  kept  right  on  righting. 

A  little  later  we  find  Andrew  Jackson  in  Florida. 
Florida  was  in  the  possession  of  Spain  and  had  long  been 
a  thorn  in  the  side  of  the  United  States  —  for  two  rea 
sons.  The  boundary  of  the  territory  was  indefinite  and 
Spain  made  no  attempt  to  control  the  Indians  and  other 
lawless  people  who  were  making  raids  across  the  border. 
President  Jefferson  tried  to  solve  the  problem  by  buying 
the  territory,  but  Spain  refused  to  sell. 

In  one  of  his  campaigns  against  the  Indians  Andrew 
Jackson  chased  them  out  of  the  United  States  and  into 
Florida.  While  there  he  captured  two  forts,  St.  Mark's 
and  Pensacola,  in  the  northwest  part  of  Florida  and 
hanged  two  British  subjects  who  were  aiding  the  Indians 
and  stirring  them  up  to  make  raids  on  the  whites.  He 
also  hanged  two  Indian  chiefs  without  a  trial. 

Jackson  had  done  a  bold  act.  He  had  entered  Spanish 
territory  and  had  executed  two  British  subjects.  John 
Quincy  Adams,  as  Secretary  of  State,  handled  the  whole 
matter  boldly  and  successfully.  He  showed  that  the 
British  subjects  had  no  right  to  be  doing  what  they  did 
and  that  it  was  necessary  for  Jackson  to  put  down  the 
lawlessness  in  Florida  since  Spain  was  unwilling  or  un 
able  to  do  so. 

The  result  of  the  whole  matter  was  that  Spain  sold 
Florida  to  the  United  States  on  Washington's  birthday, 
1819,  for  the  sum  of  $5,000,000.  Two  years  later  An- 


210  THE  MAKERS  OF  AMERICA 

drew  Jackson  became  the  first  American   Governor  of 
Florida. 

The  Florida  problem  was  now  solved,  and  another  im 
mense  tract  of  land  was  added  to  the  territory  of  the 
United  States. 

HINTS  AND   QUESTIONS 

1.  Why  is  Jefferson  called  "  The  Man  of  the  People  "? 

2.  Mention  three  important  things  which  Jefferson  did. 

3.  What  was  Jefferson's  attitude  toward  agriculture? 

4.  How  did  we  happen  to  buy  Louisiana  from  the  French? 

5.  Why  was  possession  of  the  mouth  of  the  Mississippi  River 

important? 

6.  Bound  the  Louisiana  Purchase. 

7.  Trace  on  the  map  the  route  taken  by  Lewis  and  Clark. 

8.  Who  was  Zebulon  Pike? 

9.  In  what  way  was  Andrew  Jackson  connected  with  Florida? 

PRONOUNCING  LIST 

Napoleon      na-po'le-un  Arkansas        ar'kan-sa 

Monroe        mun-ro'  Rio  Grande     re'o  gran' da 

Santa  Fe    san'ta  fa' 


CHAPTER  XIII 

THE  HIGHWAY,  THE  WATERWAY,  AND  THE 
RAILWAY 

THE  UNITED  STATES  had  now  become  a  very  large 
country.  It  was  no  longer  limited  to  the  thirteen  colo 
nies  strung  along  the  Atlantic  coast.  George  Rogers 
Clark  had  taken  the  Northwest  Territory  from  the 
British;  President  Jefferson  had  purchased  the  Loui 
siana  Territory  from  France ;  and  President  Monroe  had 
purchased  Florida  from  Spain  after  Andrew  Jackson  had 
invaded  that  territory. 

It  was  now  necessary  to  make  roads  through  this  vast 
area.  People  wanted  to  travel  from  place  to  place 
and  it  was  necessary  to  bring  the  farmers'  crops  to 
market. 

The  buffalo  path  and  the  Indian  trail  were  the  earliest 
highways  for  land  travel.  A  little  later  the  trail  was  wid 
ened  and  straightened  and  thus  made  into  a  highway  like 
Daniel  Boone's  " Wilderness  Road."  Still  later,  the  road 
was  graded  and  drained  and  bridges  were  made  across 
streams.  Later  still,  a  few  favored  roads  or  "turnpikes" 
had  their  surfaces  covered  with  gravel  or  broken  stone. 
Even  with  these  improvements,  land  travel  in  the  United 
States  in  the  early  part  of  the  nineteenth  century  was 
difficult  and  painfully  slow. 

211 


212  THE  MAKERS  OF  AMERICA 

Water  travel  was  easier  and  quicker.  The  rivers  of 
the  continent  became  the  highways  for  the  explorer's 
canoe  and  trader's  barge.  It  is  difficult  to  see  how  the 
early  explorer  could  have  made  a  survey  of  the  continent 
or  how  the  farmer  could  have  gotten  his  products  to 
market  without  the  great  rivers. 

There  was  one  great  disadvantage,  however,  in  river 
travel.  It  was  very  easy  to  glide  down  stream  but  al 
most  impossible  to  push  a  loaded  boat  back  up  stream. 
This  is  now  easily  done  by  means  of  steam  power.  But 
there  were,  of  course,  no  steamboats  in  those  days. 

ROBERT  FULTON,  THE  INVENTOR  OF  THE  STEAMBOAT 

This  leads  us  to  the  interesting  story  of  Robert  Fulton 
and  his  great  invention.  Robert  Fulton,  father  of  the 
steamboat,  was  born  in  Pennsylvania  about  ten  years 
before  the  American  Revolution  broke  out.  He  was 
educated  in  the  common  schools  and  later  became  skill 
ful  in  the  painting  of  small-sized  portraits.  After  a 
time  he  made  money  enough  by  his  art  to  buy  a  farm. 
He  wanted  this  as  a  home  for  his  mother. 

After  seeing  his  mother  comfortably  settled  in  her  new 
home,  he  went  to  England.  Here  he  studied  painting 
under  a  famous  artist.  He  also  became  an  engineer. 

Just  about  this  time  James  Watt  invented  the  steam 
engine.  Fulton  was  greatly  interested  in  it  and  saw 
many  of  the  uses  to  which  it  could  be  put. 

He  studied  the  working  of  the  steam  engine  when  he 
was  not  painting  and  began  to  invent  machines  to  be  run 


THE  HIGHWAY,   WATERWAY,   AND  RAILWAY      213 

by  steam.  Among  other  things  he  invented  a  steam 
shovel  which  was  used  in  digging  canals  and  in  making 
the  channels  of  rivers  deeper  and  wider.  He  also  wrote 
papers  on  the  making  of  canals  and  similar  subjects. 

He  then  went  to  France  where  he  lived  for  several 
years.  During  this  time  he 
was  very  active.  He  studied 
languages  and  worked  hard 
on  several  in  vent  ions.  Among 
other  things  he  invented  a 
torpedo  which  he  offered  to 
both  France  and  England.  It 
was  rejected  by  both  countries 
and  then  Fulton  came  to  the 
United  States  and  took  the 
matter  up  with  the  officials  at 
Washington.  Here  he  re 
ceived  more  encouragement. 
It  is  interesting  to  note  that 
Fulton  thought  the  torpedo  a 
more  important  invention  than  the  steamboat. 

Just  at  this  time,  however,  he  turned  his  attention  in 
another  direction.  He  wished  to  invent  a  boat  which 
could  be  propelled  up  stream  at  a  reasonable  rate  of 
speed  by  means  of  steam  power.  A  great  many  men  had 
tried  to  do  this  before  Fulton's  time  but  were  not  suc 
cessful  in  a  practical  way. 

Experiments  on  the  steamboat  were  made  in  Europe 
a  hundred  years  before  Fulton's  time  and  James  Rumsey 


ROBERT  FULTON 

This  picture  represents  the 
handsome  face  of  Robert  Ful 
ton,  inventor  and  painter. 


214 


THE  MAKERS  OF  AMERICA 


and  John  Fitch,  both  Americans,  had  made  steamboats 
of  rude  construction  before  Fulton  took  the  matter  up. 
No  one  had  yet,  however,  made  a  practical  steamboat. 
While  in  Paris  Fulton  made  up  his  mind  that  the  prob 
lem  could  be  solved.  He  went  over  to  Scotland  where 
a  steamboat  was  actually  running  and  made  a  study  of  it. 

When  he  came  to 
America  in  1806  he 
built  a  steamboat 
which  he  called  the 
Clermont.  The  vessel 
was  130  feet  long  and 
1 8  feet  wide  and  was 
able  to  carry  160  tons. 
Finally  everything 
was  in  readiness  for 
the  trial  trip  on  the 
Hudson.  The  boat 


THE  CLERMONT 


The  Clermont  was  Fulton's  successful 
steamboat.  It  was  named  from  the 
country  estate  of  Robert  R.  Livingston 
who  aided  him.  Notice  the  sail.  Steam 
boats  for  many  years  also  made  use  of 
the  power  of  the  wind. 

started  off  nicely  but 

soon  stopped.  Many  people  then  said  "I  told  you  so. "  A 
small  repair  was  made,  however,  and  the  little  pioneer 
proceeded  bravely  on  her  way  up  the  river.  She  made 
the  trip  to  Albany  and  back  in  spite  of  wind,  wave,  tide, 
and  the  remarks  of  people  who  said,  "The  thing  cannot 
be  done." 

The  Clermont  soon  after  began  regular  trips  between 
New  York  and  Albany  and  was  able  to  make  the  dis 
tance  of  150  miles  in  about  a  day  and  a  half.  A  little 
later  the  steamboat,  spouting  smoke  and  sparks,  was 


THE  HIGHWAY,   WATERWAY,  AND  RAILWAY      215 

seen  on  the  lakes  and  rivers  of  North  America.  When 
it  first  appeared  the  Indians,  deer,  and  buffaloes  fled  in 
terror  into  the  wilderness. 

About  a  dozen  years  after  Fulton's  invention  the  little 
steamboat  Savannah  crossed  the  ocean  from  America  to 
England.  From  that  time  to  this  the  ocean  steamer  has 
been  an  important  factor  in  the  world's  work. 

Today  we  honor  the  name  of  Robert  Fulton  while  we 
have  forgotten  those  who  pointed  their  fingers  at  the 
Clermont  and  called  it  " Fulton's  folly." 

With  the  launching  of  the  Clermont  on  the  Hudson  a  new  era 
in  American  history  began. 

-  ARCHER  B.  HULBERT 

THE  ERIE  CANAL 

Fulton's  invention  was  a  great  help  to  the  people  of 
the  new  country.  It  enabled  travelers  to  make  long 
trips  with  comfort  and  it  also  made  it  possible  for 
the  farmer  to  get  his  products  to  market  quickly  and 
cheaply.  But,  of  course,  the  steamboat  could  not  go 
where  there  was  no  water  to  carry  it. 

This  led  to  the  building  of  canals  upon  which  boats 
loaded  with  passengers  and  freight  were  pulled  or  towed 
slowly  along. 

A  few  canals  had  been  made  before  Fulton's  time  but 
the  first  really  great  and  important  one  in  America  was 
the  Erie  Canal,  extending  from  Albany  to  Buffalo,  a 
distance  of  363  miles. 


216 


THE  MAKERS  OF  AMERICA 


D     A 


This  water  highway  is  the  connecting  link  between 
the  Great  Lakes  and  the  Atlantic  Ocean.  Men  had 
thought  and  talked  and  written  about  such  a  canal 
for  many  years  before  the  digging  was  begun.  General 
Schuyler,  of  the  Revolutionary  army,  said  that  such  a 
canal  should  be  constructed.  It  was  Governor  De  Witt 

Clinton,  however, 
who  made  the  dirt 
fly.  For  this  reason 
the  Erie  Canal  has 
often  been  referred 
to  as  "De  Witt 
Clinton'sbig  ditch." 
The  first  steps 
towards  the  con 
struction  of  this 
canal  were  taken  in 
1 8 10  and  the  pro 
ject  was  finished  fifteen  years  later.  Governor  Clinton 
and  others  went  to  Washington  and  asked  the  help  of 
Congress  in  the  great  undertaking.  This  was  denied 
and  the  state  of  New  York  then  undertook  to  carry  the 
whole  burden. 

During  the  War  of  -1812  the  whole  matter  was 
dropped  for  about  three  years.  The  country  had  to  at 
tend  to  other  matters. 

Throughout  this  period  the  old  stage-coach  and  the 
freight  wagons  carried  passengers  and  freight  from  place 
to  place  as  well  as  they  could.  One  of  these  wagons 


THE  ERIE  CANAL 

This  map  shows  the  course  of  the  Erie 
Canal  from  Buffalo  to  Albany.  It  passes 
through  a  beautiful  and  picturesque  part 
of  the  state  and  connects  several  im 
portant  cities.  It  is  a  worthy  monument 
to  Governor  De  Witt  Clinton. 


THE  HIGHWAY,   WATERWAY,  AND  RAILWAY       217 

took  a  load  of  people  from  New  York  to  Philadelphia,  a 
distance  of  ninety  miles,  in  three  days.  After  that  the 
wagon  was  proudly  called  "the  flying  machine."  Auto 
mobiles  now  sometimes  make  this  distance  in  two  hours 
instead  of  three  days. 

This  kind  of  travel  was  slow  and  expensive  and  really 
somewhat  dangerous. 
Accidents  occurred  at 
times  and  occasionally 
the  wagons  were  rob 
bed  in  the  lonely 
stretches  of  forest 
through  which  they 
were  compelled  to 
pass.  So  when  the  war 
was  over  Clinton  again 
urged  the  building  of 
the  canal  and  did  not 
let  things  rest  until 
the  work  was  com 
pleted.  He  was  not  at 
all  discouraged  when 
Congress  refused  to  help.  This  seemed  to  make  him  more 
determined  than  ever  to  carry  out  his  plan. 

Clinton  was  elected  Governor  of  New  York  in  1816 
and  then,  of  course,  he  had  more  influence  than  ever. 
He  worked  on  the  canal  project  in  the  daytime  and 
dreamed  about  it  at  night. 

Finally  on  July  4,  1817,  the  first  shovelful  of  dirt  was 


THE  OLD-TIME  STAGE-COACH 

The  travel  was  slow  and  expensive.  A 
stage  ran  from  New  York  to  Boston  three 
times  a  week.  It  took  three  days  to  make 
the  trip.  Sometimes  the  passengers  had 
to  get  out  and  push  the  coach  out  of  the 
mud.  The  coach  averaged  about  four 
miles  an  hour. 


2l8 


THE  MAKERS  OF  AMERICA 


thrown  up,  and  the  great  project  was  begun.  It  was  no 
small  task  to  push  a  canal  through  the  wilderness  and 
swamps  of  New  York,  a  distance  of  nearly  400  miles. 


THE  OPENING  OF  THE  ERIE  CANAL 

Governor  Clinton  of  New  York  in  the  presence  of  a  distinguished 
company  of  men  and  women,  is  pouring  water  from  Lake  Erie  into 
the  Hudson  River. 

In  Europe  the  wheelbarrow  and  shovel  were  still  used 
in  canal  building  but  in  this  work  the  plow  and  the 
scraper  took  their  places.  Giant  machines  were  also  used 
which  took  trees  and  stumps  in  their  mighty  grasp  and 


THE  HIGHWAY,   WATERWAY,   AND  RAILWAY       219 

tore  them  from  the  soil  as  easily  as  one  could  pull  a  weed 
out  of  his  garden. 

The  frozen  ground  of  winter  helped  the  men  to  haul 
supplies  where  they  were  needed.  The  work,  however, 
was  very  hard  and  many  of  the  men  became  ill. 

The  wilderness  and  swamps  were  also  unhealthful.  A 
thousand  men  were  on  the  sick  list  at  one  time,  suffering 
from  fever  and  ague, 
and  for  a  short  time 
the  work  on  the  canal 
was  brought  to  a 
standstill. 

After  eight  years  of 
the  hardest  kind  of 
work  Clinton,  still 
Governor  of  the  State, 
opened  the  completed 
canal  with  a  big  cele 
bration.  A  large  party 
of  people  went 


LIFE  ON  A  CANAL  BOAT 


in 


Freight  and  passengers  moved  slowly  in 
the  clumsy  and  sluggish  canal  boat.  The 
passengers,  however,  had  a  good  visit 
when  the  weather  was  pleasant.  Notice 
the  tow-line  and  the  horses  on  the  tow- 
path. 


stately  procession 
down  the  river  from 
Albany  to  New  York.  At  the  end  of  the  journey  Gover 
nor  Clinton  poured  into  the  Atlantic  Ocean  some  water 
which  had  been  taken  from  the  Great  Lakes.  As  he  did 
so  he  declared  that  the  two  bodies  of  water  were  united 
in  marriage. 

The   canal   cost  the  state  $7,602,000,   but   has  been 
worth  many  times  that  amount  to  the  state  and  Nation. 


220  THE  MAKERS  OF  AMERICA 

The  state  collected  $8,500,000  in  tolls  on  the  canal 
during  the  first  nine  years  of  its  existence.  Its  value  in 
connecting  the  West  with  the  East  can  hardly  be  over 
estimated. 

Although  large  sums  were  collected  as  tolls  on  the 
canal,  the  rates  were  very  low.  It  cost  at  this  time 
thirty-two  dollars  to  carry  a  ton  of  goods  one  hundred 
miles  by  wagon,  while  the  cost  by  the  canal  was  only 
one  dollar  and  a  half. 

The  canal  is  still  running  and  is  just  as  important  as  it 
ever  was  as  a  highway  of  commerce.  It  is  opened  every 
year  in  the  spring  after  the  ice  goes  out  and  boats  con 
tinue  to  run,  now  propelled  by  steam,  until  the  ice 
comes  again  in  the  early  winter. 

The  next  time  you  travel  from  Buffalo  to  Albany 
over  the  New  York  Central  Railway  do  not  fail  to  get  a 
good  view  of  the  Erie  Canal  with  its  walled  banks  and 
its  lazy,  clumsy  steam  barges. 

THE  FIRST  AMERICAN  RAILROAD 

The  locomotive  came  puffing  along  in  the  United 
States  about  twenty-five  years  after  Fulton's  steamboat 
had  frightened  the  natives  along  the  Hudson  River. 
Some  men  had  talked  about  such  a  thing  a  long  time 
before  Fulton  invented  the  Clermont.  They  did  not  call 
it  a  locomotive,  however,  but  a  " steam  carriage."  The 
present  massive  locomotive,  weighing  scores  of  tons, 
does  not  look  very  much  like  a  carriage,  does  it? 

A  short  time  before  Fulton's  steamboat  was  finished  a 


THE  HIGHWAY,   WATERWAY,   AND  RAILWAY       221 

man  named  Evans  had  a  vision  of  the  locomotive.  He 
said:  "The  time  will  come  when  a  steam  carriage  will 
set  out  from  Washington  in  the  morning,  the  passengers 
will  breakfast  at  Baltimore,  dine  at  Philadelphia,  and 


THE  DE  WITT  CLINTON 

This  was  the  first  passenger  train  on  the  New  York  Central  Rail 
road.  It  caused  great  excitement.  Even  the  dogs,  chickens  and 
geese  were  interested. 

sup  in  New  York."  It  was  not  very  long  before  this 
was  done.  At  the  present  time  trains  run  from  Washing 
ton  to  New  York  in  five  or  six  hours. 

The  railroad  grew  up  very  gradually  and  very  slowly. 
The  first  tracks  were  laid  without  any  idea  of  using  a 


222 


THE  MAKERS  OF  AMERICA 


locomotive.  In  a  mining  district,  for  example,  wooden 
tracks  with  strips  of  iron  on  top  would  be  laid  and  cars 
loaded  with  coal  would  be  pushed  over  them  by  hand. 

Sometimes  horses  were  used  to  draw  the  cars  and  in 
some  cases  sails  were  spread  in  order  to  make  use  of  the 

power  of  the  wind. 

Finally,  Peter  Cooper  made 
an  engine  called  the  "Tom 
Thumb, "  the  first  locomotive 
built  in  the  United  States. 
The  "Tom  Thumb  "was  built 
in  a  shop  near  Baltimore. 
In  1831  it  made  its  first  trip 
of  thirteen  miles  out  of  Balti 
more  in  one  hour.  This  was 
a  great  occasion.  The  little 
engine  drew  one  open  car 
which  was  occupied  by  the 
owners  of  the  road  and  a  few 
others.  It  was  a  very  jolly 
party  and  all  were  singing  the 
praises  of  the  "Iron  Horse." 
The  "Tom  Thumb"  was 

a  great  success.  Two  years  before  this  time  a  locomotive 
was  imported  from  England  but  it  could  not  be  used  be 
cause  it  was  too  heavy  for  the  slender  tracks. 

Soon  after  this  time  the  "De  Witt  Clinton"  made  a 
successful  trip  over  the  Mohawk  Valley  Railroad  in  New 
York.  It  ran  from  Albany  to  Schenectady,  a  distance 


PETER  COOPER 

Builder  of  the  "Tom  Thumb," 
the  first  locomotive  ever  con 
structed  in  America. 


THE  HIGHWAY,   WATERWAY,   AND   RAILWAY      223 

of  seventeen  miles  in  an  hour.  This  train  also  carried  a 
merry  party  and  there  was  a  fine  banquet  in  Scheneo 
tady  that  evening  to  celebrate  the  event. 

A  man  who  rode  on  this  train  wrote  an  account  of  the 
journey  sometime  after.  He  said  that  the  coaches  were 
tied  together  by  means  of  chains,  "  leaving  from  two  to 
three  feet  slack."  When  the  train  started  the  passengers 


AN  ELECTRIC  TRAIN 

The  electric  locomotive  is  now  taking  the  place,  to  some  extent,  of 
the  steam  locomotive.  It  is  more  powerful  for  the  steep  grades  of 
the  Rocky  Mountains  and  is  cleaner  for  use  in  cities. 

were  jerked  over  backwards  and  when  the  train  stopped 
they  were  thrown  forward. 

Pitch  was  used  for  fuel  and  the  dense  black  smoke, 
filled  with  sparks  and  cinders,  poured  down  upon  the 
heads  of  the  passengers.  Umbrellas  were  used  for 
protection  but  these  caught  fire  and  burned  up  during 
the  first  mile  of  the  trip.  After  that  there  was  nothing 
for  the  passengers  to  do  but  to  "grin  and  bear  it." 

The  whole  countryside   turned  out  to   see  the  won- 


224  THE  MAKERS  OF  AMERICA 

derful  train  as  it  passed  by.  Many  people  came  in 
wagons  and  forgot,  apparently,  that  their  horses  might 
be  frightened  by  the  fiery  monster.  The  horses  did 
object  and  many  of  them  ran  away  in  terror.  The 
writer  expressed  the  thought  that  some  of  them  might 
be  running  yet. 

This  was  the  beginning  of  the  railway  system  of  the 
United  States.  At  first  it  was  used  to  help  out  the 
canal  and  the  wagon  road.  Then  it  was  seen  that  the 
railway  was  in  many  ways  the  best  method  of  trans 
portation.  It  did  not  cost  so  much  to  build  a  mile 
of  railroad  as  it  did  to  build  a  mile  of  canal.  The 
locomotive  was  faster  than  the  canal  boat  and  the 
railroad  did  not  freeze  over  in  the  winter  season. 
Then  too,  the  railroad  could  be  carried  over  the 
mountains  while  the  canal  could  not.  Low  water  in 
the  summer  and  floods  in  the  spring  had  no  terrors 
for  the  railroad,  while  they  often  halted  the  canal 
boat. 

All  of  these  things  recommended  the  iron  horse 
rather  than  the  sluggish  boat.  It  is  said  that  in  1830 
there  were  twenty-three  miles  of  railroad  in  the  United 
States.  There  are  now  about  two  hundred  and  sixty- 
six  thousand  miles  —  or  more  than  in  any  other  country 
in  the  world. 

SAMUEL  F.  B.  MORSE  AND  THE  ELECTRIC  TELEGRAPH 

Professor  Samuel  F.  B.  Morse  deserves  to  be  ranked 
with  the  great  inventors  of  the  world.  He  invented  the 


THE  HIGHWAY,   WATERWAY,  AND  RAILWAY      22$ 

electric  telegraph  by  means  of  which  we  are  able  to 
send  messages  thousands  of  miles  in  a  few  minutes. 

Perhaps  you  have  been  in  a  telegraph  office  or  rail 
road  station  and  have  listened  to  the  clicking  of  the 
Morse  instrument  without  thinking  very  much  about 
it.  It  was  so  very  familiar 
to  you,  and  you  had  heard  it 
so  many  times,  that  there 
seemed  to  be  nothing  new  or 
remarkable  about  it.  As  a 
matter  of  fact  you  were 
listening  to  one  of  the  most 
wonderful  instruments  ever 
invented  by  the  brain  of 
man. 

Morse  was  born  in  Massa 
chusetts  while  Washington 
was  President  of  the  United 
States.  He  was  graduated 
from  Yale  College  when  he 
was  nineteen  years  of  age 
and  then,  like  Robert  Fulton, 

went  to  England  to  study  painting.  In  fact  he  and 
Robert  Fulton  studied  there  under  the  same  artist.  He 
also  did  some  very  good  work  in  sculpture. 

After  remaining  in  England  five  years  he  returned  to 
the  United  States  and  worked  as  a  portrait  painter  in 
Boston  and  New  York  for  several  years.  Later  he  was 
elected  Professor  of  Art  in  the  University  of  the  City 
of  New  York. 


SAMUEL  F.  B.  MORSE 

Whenever  we  send  or  receive  a 
telegram  or  read  the  news  from 
a  distant  city,  we  are  indebted 
to  Professor  Morse. 


226  THE  MAKERS  OF  AMERICA 

During  all  this  time  Professor  Morse  had  been  in 
terested  in  electricity  and  had  learned  a  good  deal 
about  it.  One  time  when  coming  back  from  Europe 
he  had  a  conversation  with  a  man  who  told  him  about 
some  electrical  experiments  which  had  recently  been 
carried  on  in  France.  It  was  at  this  time  (1832)  that 
he  got  the  idea  of  the  electric  telegraph. 

He  went  to  work  on  his  idea  and  a  few  years  later 
he  was  sending  messages  in  his  own  room  over  a  mile 
of  wire.  Morse  did  not  have  money  enough  to  con 
tinue  his  work  and  so  asked  Congress  to  help  him.  He 
wanted  to  build  an  experimental  telegraph  line  from 
Washington  to  Baltimore.  Congress  failed  to  assist  him 
and  he  worked  on  and  did  as  well  as  he  could  with  his 
slender  means. 

Some  years  later  the  bill  for  his  assistance  came  up 
again  in  Congress,  but  his  chances  of  securing  aid 
seemed  to  be  very  small.  The  last  day  of  the  session 
came  and  nearly  two  hundred  bills  were  on  the  list 
ahead  of  his.  Morse  went  to  bed  that  evening  with 
a  heavy  heart  and  without  hope.  The  next  morn 
ing,  however,  the  cheery  voice  of  Miss  Ellsworth, 
the  young  daughter  of  the  chief  of  the  patent  office, 
told  him  that  Congress  at  the  hour  of  midnight  had 
appropriated  thirty  thousand  dollars  for  his  assist 
ance. 

This  was  a  wonderful  help  and  the  line  from  Balti 
more  to  Washington  was  built.  Finally  all  was  in  readi 
ness  for  the  first  great  test.  Then  Professor  Morse  sent 


THE  HIGHWAY,   WATERWAY,   AND  RAILWAY      227 

from  Washington  the  following  message  to  his  assistant 
in  Baltimore:  "What  hath  God  wrought?"  This  was 
the  message  suggested  by  the  young  Miss  Ellsworth  who 
had  brought  him  the  glad  tidings.  News  items  of  an 
important  character  were  then  sent  over  the  wire  in  a 
rapid  and  almost  magical  way. 

As  in  the  case  of  Eli  Whitney,  men  tried  to  steal  the 
profits  of  Morse's  great  invention,  and  he  was  com 
pelled  to  bring  many  lawsuits  in  order  to  obtain  his 
rights. 

Morse  had  made  a  wonderful  and  a  useful  invention 
and  was  highly  honored  everywhere.  Yale  College  gave 
him  another  degree  and  the  King  of  Prussia,  the 
Emperor  of  Austria,  and  the  Sultan  of  Turkey,  had 
medals  struck  in  his  honor.  He  was  recognized  in  a  simi 
lar  way  all  over  the  civilized  world.  He  was  also  given, 
on  one  occasion,  a  purse  of  eight  thousand  dollars 
in  gold. 

In  1871  a  beautiful  bronze  statue  of  him  was  erected 
in  one  of  the  parks  in  New  York  City.  The  money 
for  this  was  given  by  the  telegraph  operators.  The 
poet  Bryant  unveiled  the  statue  and  on  that  same  even 
ing  Professor  Morse  attended  a  banquet  and  reception 
in  his  honor  and  sent  his  greetings  to  cities  all  over  the 
world.  In  doing  this  he  made  use  of  one  of  the  old 
telegraph  instruments  which  had  seen  service  on  the 
Washington-Baltimore  line. 

During  this  same  time  Morse  was  interested  in  pho 
tography  and  made  the  first  "sun  pictures,"  or  tin- 


228  THE  MAKERS  OF  AMERICA 

types,  ever  made  in  the  United  States.     Some  of  these 
are  still  in  exist ance. 

Professor  Morse  closed  his  long  and  useful  life  in 
New  York  City  at  the  age  of  eighty-one  years. 

Morse's  great  invention  made  a  wonderful  change  in 
business.  It  made  great  newspapers  possible;  it  helped 
in  the  management  of  railroads  and  the  running  of 
trains;  it  helped  government  business  and,  in  fact,  busi 
ness  of  all  kinds;  and  it  also  lifted  a  great  burden  from 
the  mails. 

It  was  much  easier  and  cheaper  to  build  telegraph 
lines  than  to  build  canals  and  railroads  and  soon  the 
whole  eastern  part  of  United  States  became  a  net 
work  of  wires. 

It  was  not  so  easy  to  push  the  lines  out  to  the 
Pacific  Coast.  In  the  middle  of  the  nineteenth  century 
the  famous  "Pony  Express"  carried  the  mails  over 
land  to  the  Pacific.  This  means  that  the  sacks  were 
carried  on  the  backs  of  swift  horses  over  the  old  "Salt 
Lake  Trail." 

In  1 86 1  the  Western  Union  Telegraph  Company 
strung  the  first  telegraph  wire  over  the  mountains  to 
the  Pacific  Ocean.  This  was  very  expensive  because 
the  line  ran  over  hundreds  of  miles  of  uninhabited 
country  and  had  to  be  protected  from  Indians  and 
buffaloes  as  well  as  from  wind  and  storm.  The  com 
pany  thought  at  one  time  of  putting  the  wire  under 
ground. 


THE  HIGHWAY,   WATERWAY,  AND  RAILWAY       229 

HINTS   AND   QUESTIONS 

1.  Tell  the  story  of  the  Clermont's  trial  trip  on  the  Hudson. 

2.  Trace  the  course  of  the  Erie  Canal  on  the  map. 

3.  What  do  you  consider  the  greatest  difficulty  which  De  Witt 

Clinton  had  to  face  in  digging  the  Erie  Canal? 

4.  How  was  the  Erie  Canal  useful  to  the  people  of  New  York? 

5.  For  what  was  Peter  Cooper  noted? 

6.  In  what  ways  were  railroads  an  improvement  over  canals? 

7.  How  did  steamboats  and  railroads  and  the  telegraph  help  the 

country? 

8.  Get   a   telegraph   operator   to    explain   the    Morse   alphabet 

to  you. 

PRONOUNCING  LIST 

Clermont          kler'mont 
Schenectady     ske-nek'ta-di 


CHAPTER  XIV 
THE   GOLDEN   SOUTHWEST 

WE  HAVE  watched  the  rapid  growth  of  the  country 
as  one  great  tract  of  land  after  another  was  added 
to  the  national  domain.  We  are  now  going  to  see  how 
the  Golden  Southwest,  extending  from  Texas  to  Califor 
nia,  came  into  possession  of  the  United  States.  This 
brings  us  to  the  story  of 

SAM  HOUSTON  or  TEXAS 

Houston  was  another  of  that  unterrified  race  of 
pioneers  which  opened  up  our  western  country.  Vir 
ginia,  as  we  have  already  seen,  was  the  mother  of 
many  of  these  adventurers.  Houston  also  was  born  in 
Virginia  while  Washington  was  President  of  the  United 
States.  While  he  was  still  a  small  boy  his  family  moved 
to  Tennessee.  Here  he  came  into  close  contact  with 
the  Indians,  and  the  Cherokees  adopted  him  as  a  mem 
ber  of  their  tribe. 

Houston  was  an  active  and  a  patriotic  man  and  took 
part  in  the  Indian  wars  of  his  time.  When  Andrew 
Jackson  fought  the  Creeks  Houston  was  with  him  and 
was  badly  wounded  in  one  of  the  battles.  David 
Crockett,  whom  we  shall  meet  later,  was  also  in 
Jackson's  command. 

230  < 


THE  GOLDEN  SOUTHWEST 


231 


It  is  in  connection  with  Texas,  however,  that  Sam 
Houston  is  best  known.  After  leaving  the  army  Hous 
ton  became  a  lawyer  and  served  in  Congress  for  a  while. 
He  was  also  Governor  of  Tennessee.  During  a  part  of 
the  time  he  went  to  live  with  the  Cherokees  and  pro 
tected  them  from  dishonest 
white  men.  He  then  went 
to  Texas,  where  he  im 
mediately  became  famous. 

Texas,  at  one  time,  was  a 
part  of  Mexico  but  the  Tex- 
ans  were  not  happy  under 
Mexican  rule.  Most  of  the 
Texas  people  were  Americans 
and  did  not  like  the  Mexican 
government.  Finally,  in  1835, 
they  revolted  and  declared 
their  independence  of  the 
Mexican  government,  just  as 
our  Revolutionary  forefathers  SAM  HOUSTON 

did  in  the  case  of  England  in     Houston  was  a  sturdy   leader 

of  men.    He  might  be  called  the 


"Father  of  Texas." 


1776. 

They  had  a  hard  struggle 

but  they  had  brave  leaders  in  Sam  Houston,  Crockett, 
Bowie,  and  others.  They  fought  as  bravely  as  any  men 
could  possibly  fight.  They  also  suffered  terribly  when,  as 
prisoners,  they  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  Mexicans.  In 
one  case  more  than  350  of  them  who  had  surrendered 
were  marched  out  in  line  and  shot. 


232 


THE  MAKERS  OF  AMERICA 


At  the  Alamo,  a  fort  in  southern  Texas,  one  thou 
sand  Mexicans  laid  siege  to  one  hundred  and  eighty- 
three  Texans.  The  Texans  sent  out  word  that  they 


THE  BATTLE  or  THE  ALAMO 

It  is  no  wonder  that  the  Texans  took  as  their  war  cry  "Remember 

the  Alamo." 


would  neither  surrender  nor  retreat.  The  Mexicans 
made  an  attack  from  three  sides  and  all  of  the  Texans 
with  the  exception  of  five  or  six  died  fighting.  It 


THE  GOLDEN  SOUTHWEST 


233 


would  have  been  better  for  them  if  they  had  all  died 
in  battle  as  they  were  massacred  soon  after,   "not  a 
man   being   left   alive   to    tell   the   tale."     The   Texas 
people  to  this  day  have  not  forgotten  the  Alamo. 
A  short  time  later  (April,  1836)  the  two  armies  met 


SANTA  ANNA  A  PRISONER  BEFORE  SAM  HOUSTON 

Santa  Anna  was  Dictator  of  Mexico  and  Commander  of  the 
Mexican  forces.  He  was  defeated  by  the  Texans  under  Sam 
Houston  and  others. 

at  San  Jacinto,  near  Galveston.  The  Texans  shouted 
their  battle  cry  "Remember  the  Alamo "  and  charged 
on  the  Mexicans.  The  Texans  killed,  captured,  or 
routed  the  entire  Mexican  Army.  Santa  Anna,  the 
Mexican  ruler,  was  among  the  prisoners.  In  this 
battle  the  Mexicans  lost  sixteen  hundred  men,  which 


234  THE  MAKERS  OF  AMERICA 

was  twice  the  entire  number  under  the  command  of 
Sam  Houston. 

This  battle  decided  the  contest.  The  Texans,  under 
the  able  leadership  of  Sam  Houston,  had  won  their 
independence.  They  set  up  a  little  republic  of  their 
own  and  elected  Houston  their  first  President.  This 
was  in  1836.  And  "the  Lone  Star  Republic,"  as  it 
was  called,  continued  to  be  independent  until  annexed 
to  the  United  States  with  its  own  consent. 

THE  ANNEXATION  OF  TEXAS 

Agitation  for  the  annexation  of  Texas  began  almost 
immediately  after  independence  was  won.  The  Texas 
people  were  mostly  Americans  —  at  any  rate  their 
leaders  were  —  and  the  southern  men  wanted  more 
territory  for  the  institution  of  slavery.  These  two 
things  finally  brought  about  the  annexation. 

This  question  was  decided  by  the  presidential  elec 
tion  of  1844.  James  K.  Polk,  who  favored  annexation, 
was  elected.  Henry  Clay  was  his  opponent.  During 
the  campaign  the  people  shouted: 

Hurrah  for  Polk  and  annexation, 
Down  with  Clay  and  high  taxation! 

Just  before  Mr.  Polk  took  the  presidential  chair, 
Congress  passed  a  resolution  providing  for  the  annexa 
tion  of  "the  Lone  Star  Republic."  Texas  agreed  a  little 
later  and  became  a  state  in  the  American  Union  in 
December,  1845. 

Houston  during  all  of  this  time  favored  the  union  of 


THE  GOLDEN  SOUTHWEST  235 

Texas  with  the  United  States  and  was  now  elected  a 
United  States  Senator  from  the  new  state.  A  little 
later  he  was  chosen  Governor  and  was  holding  this 
position  when  the  Civil  War  came  on. 

At  the  outbreak  of  the  war  a  convention  of  delegates 
voted  that  Texas  should  withdraw  from  the  Union. 
Houston  opposed  this  action  with  all  his  power  and 
made  the  greatest  speech  of  his  life  against  it.  When 
his  state  did  go  out  of  the  Union  in  spite  of  his  pro 
tests,  he  retired  from  office  and  refused  to  take  the 
oath  of  allegiance  to  the  southern  Confederacy.  This 
was  the  end  of  his  public  career.  He  died  a  short  time 
after  (1863)  at  the  age  of  seventy. 

THE  MEXICAN  WAR 

The  annexation  of  Texas  led  to  a  war  with  Mexico. 
Mexico  had  never  really  acknowledged  the  independence 
of  Texas.  She  still  claimed  that  Texas  was  a  part  of 
Mexico  and  was  very  angry  when  the  United  States 
annexed  that  territory. 

There  was  also  another  cause  for  the  war.  The 
United  States  claimed  that  the  Rio  Grande  was  the 
southern  boundary  of  Texas.  Mexico  claimed  that 
Texas  didn't  extend  that  far  south.  The  President  sent 
a  part  of  the  United  States  army  to  take  possession 
of  the  disputed  strip  of  land.  The  Mexicans  made  an 
attack  upon  the  American  troops  and  the  war  was  on. 
This  was  in  the  spring  of  1846  —  only  a  year  after 
Congress  had  voted  to  annex  Texas. 


236 


THE  MAKERS  OF  AMERICA 


In  about  two  years  the  war  was  over.  The  Ameri 
cans  won  every  battle.  General  Taylor,  better  known 
as  "Old  Rough-and- Ready/'  crossed  the  Rio  Grande  and 
carried  the  war  into  the  enemy's  territory.  He  met 


GENERAL  SCOTT  ENTERING  THE  CITY  OF  MEXICO 

General  Scott  was  sometimes  called  "Old  Fuss  and  Feathers."  but 
he  entered  the  enemy's  capital  and  practically  pui  an  end  to  the 
Mexican  War. 


Santa  Anna,  dictator  of  Mexico,  and  beat  him  deci 
sively  in  the  Battle  of  Buena  Vista.  As  a  result  of  this 
battle  all  of  the  northwestern  part  of  Mexico  fell  into 
Taylor's  hands.  From  this  time  on,  he  was  known  as 
the  "Hero  of  Buena  Vista." 

A   little   later    General   Scott   marched   a   victorious 


THE  GOLDEN  SOUTHWEST  237 

American  army  into  the  City   of   Mexico,  the   capital 
of  the  country,  and  the  war  was  practically  over. 

A  treaty  of  peace  was  made  soon  after  and  Mexico 
was  compelled  to  give  to  the  United  States  all  of  the 
land  north  of  the  Rio  Grande.  This  included  New. 
Mexico,  California,  Nevada,  Utah,  Arizona,  and  parts 
of  other  states,  or  about  eight  hundred  thousand  square 
miles  in  all.  On  the  other  hand  the  United  States 
agreed  to  pay  a  large  sum  of  money  to  the  Mexican 
government. 

About  the  time  the  Mexican  War  began  the  United 
States  made  a  treaty  with  England  and  obtained  the 
Oregon  territory  in  the  northwestern  part  of  the  United 
States.  This,  together  with  the  land  obtained  from 
Mexico,  pushed  the  boundary  of  the  country  out  to 
the  Pacific  Ocean. 

The  thirteen  infant  colonies  had  now  expanded  until 
they  reached  from  the  Atlantic  on  the  east  to  the  Pacific 
on  the  west  and  from  Canada  on  the  north  to  the  Gulf 
of  Mexico  on  the  south. 

THREE  GREAT  FRONTIERSMEN 
"DAVY"   CROCKETT 

Several  other  men  had  active  parts  in  the  great 
drama  of  the  Southwest  aside  from  Sam  Houston. 
One  of  these  was  "Davy"  Crockett  whom  we  have 
already  met  in  the  war  against  the  Creek  Indians. 

Crockett  was  born  in  Tennessee  soon  after  the  close 


238  THE  MAKERS  OF  AMERICA 

of  the  Revolutionary  War.  His  home  was  a  beautiful 
but  solitary  spot  not  far  from  the  Great  Smoky  Moun 
tains.  He  never  attended  school  very  much  but  had 
a  bright,  keen  mind.  While  still  young  he  became  a 

skillful  hunter  and  trapper 
and  a  noted  Indian  fighter. 
After  the  Indian  troubles 
quieted  down,  Crockett  went 
to  Congress  for  six  years.  He 
then  drifted  over  to  Texas 
and  arrived  there  just  in  time 
to  take  part  in  the  fight  for 
Independence. 

Crockett  fought  in  the 
Battle  of  the  Alamo  and  was 
one  of  the  six  survivors  who 
surrendered  at  the  end  of  the 
siege.  They  were  promised 
protection  but  all  were 
brutally  murdered  at  the  command  of  Santa  Anna. 
Crockett  was  struck  down  by  a  dozen  swords. 

JOHN  C.  FREMONT,  "THE  OLD  PATHFINDER" 

Another  hero  of  the  Southwest  was  John  C.  Fre 
mont.  Fremont  was  born  in  Georgia  in  1813.  He 
was  graduated  from  college  at  the  age  of  seventeen 
and  taught  mathematics  in  the  United  States  Navy 
for  two  or  three  years. 

His  real  work,  however,   was  that  of  the  explorer. 


DAVID  CROCKETT 


THE  GOLDEN  SOUTHWEST 


239 


He  wandered  far  and  wide  over  the  western  country 
and  was  particularly  familiar  with  the  California  coast. 

When  the  Mexican  War  came  on  Fremont  took  a 
hand  in  the  contest  and  made  a  conquest  of  California. 

He  had  many  honors  conferred  upon  him  by  the 
kings  of  Europe  and  the  rulers  of  other  countries,  but 
he  was  proudest  of  all 
of  the  title  which  was 
given  to  him  by  his 
own  countrymen. 
They  loved  to  call  him 
The  Old  Pathfinder. 

He  was  the  first 
candidate  nominated 
by  the  Republican 
party  for  the  Presi 
dency  of  the  United 
States  (1856).  He 
was  defeated  but  he 
helped  to  fight  the 
battles  of  the  Civil 
War  and  then  aided  in  getting  a  railroad  across  the  con 
tinent.  It  is  interesting  to  note  that  this  road  touched 
some  of  the  trails  over  which  he  had  tramped  in  his 
earlier  years. 

After  his  nomination  for  the  Presidency  by  the 
party  which  was  opposed  to  the  extension  of  slavery, 
the  poet  Whittier  addressed  to  him  the  following 
lines : 


FREMONT  "THE  PATHFINDER" 

Exploring    Party    Crossing    the    Rocky 
Mountains. 


240  THE  MAKERS  OF  AMERICA 

Strong  leader  of  that  mountain  band, 

Another  task  remains, 
To  break  from  Slavery's  desert  land 

A  path  to  Freedom's  plains. 

The  winds  are  wild,  the  way  is  drear, 
Yet,  flashing  through  the  night, 

Lo!    icy  ridge  and  rocky  spear 
Blaze  out  in  morning  light! 

Rise  up,  FREMONT!  and  go  before; 

The  Hour  must  have  its  Man; 
Put  on  the  hunting-shirt  once  more, 

And  lead  in  Freedom's  van! 


"Kix"  CARSON,  THE  SCOUT 

"Kit"  Carson,  whose  real  name  was  Christopher 
Carson,  was  born  in  Kentucky  in  1809  —  the  year  of 
Lincoln's  birth.  He  liked  the  great  outdoors.  He  was 
never  so  happy  as  when  enjoying  the  solitude  of  the 
forest  or  the  freedom  of  the  plains.  He  didn't  care 
to  be  cooped  up  in  a  house  or  a  schoolroom. 

At  the  age  of  seventeen  he  began  his  pioneer  life  of 
adventure.  He  was  a  "trapper  on  the  plains"  for  eight 
years  and  a  hunter  in  the  forest  for  as  many  more.  He 
then  fell  in  with  John  C.  Fremont  and  was  his  guide 
on  some  of  his  trips  of  exploration.  He  was  well  quali 
fied  for  this  work.  He  had  roamed  over  a  large  part 
of  the  western  country.  He  knew  the  Indian  tribes, 
had  learned  some  of  their  languages,  and  as  a  rule  was 


THE  GOLDEN  SOUTHWEST 


241 


welcome  in  their  wigwams  and  tepees.     He  thus  made 
it  easy  for  settlers  to  follow  in  his  wake. 

During  the  Mexican  War  he  was  an  officer  in  the 
"  United  States  Mounted  Rifles,"  and  later  was  ap 
pointed  an  Indian  agent. 
While  acting  as  agent  he 
made  many  treaties  between 
the  Indians  and  the  white  men. 

During  the  Civil  War  he 
saw  service  both  in  Indian 
Territory  and  in  the  Rocky 
Mountain  country  and  was 
promoted  in  military  rank. 

When  he  was  not  hunting, 
trapping,  exploring,  or  fight 
ing  for  his  country,  he  was 
engaged  in  the  more  peaceful 
and  less  exciting  pursuits.  If 
you  had  been  in  the  West  dur 
ing  the  "Gold  Days"  you 
might  have  seen  the  famous 
scout  driving  a  flock  of  six 
thousand  five  hundred  sheep 
over  the  Rockies  to  California. 

"Kit"  Carson  died  in  Colorado  in  1868  at  the  age 
of  fifty-nine  years.  He  had  blazed  the  way  over  the 
mountains  to  the  "Golden  Gate"  and  civilization  fol 
lowed  after  him. 


"Kix"  CARSON,  THE  SCOUT 

He  belonged  to  a  race  of  men 
now  passed  away.  He  would 
have  been  an  interesting  leader 
for  "Boy  Scouts." 


242  THE  MAKERS  OF  AMERICA 

SUITER'S  MILL  AND  "THE  FORTY-NINERS" 

Oh,  my  heart  is  filled  with  the  days  of  yore, 

And  oft  I  do  repine 
For  the  Days  of  Old,  and  the  Days  of  Gold, 

And  the  Days  of  Forty-nine. 

About  the  time  that  the  treaty  of  peace  was  signed 
with  Mexico,  Captain  John  Sutter,  a  California  pioneer, 


DISCOVERY  OF  GOLD  IN  CALIFORNIA 

There  was  great  excitement.  Americans,  Spaniards,  Indians,  cow 
boys,  hunters  and  trappers  were  searching  for  the  yellow  particles 
in  the  mill  race  of  Slitter's  mill. 

was  building  a  rude  sawmill  on  his  estate  on  the  Sa 
cramento  River.    One  of  his  workmen,  John  Marshall, 


THE  GOLDEN  SOUTHWEST  243 

while  walking  along  the  mill  race  one  day,  saw  some 
yellow  particles  in  the  water.  Some  of  these  were  as 
large  as  grains  of  wheat  but  most  of  them  much  smaller. 
He  scraped  up  a  few  and  brought  them  to  the  Captain. 
When  analyzed  the  particles  proved  to  be  gold.  Sutter, 
at  first,  wanted  to  keep  the  discovery  a  profound  secret. 
He  might  as  well  have  tried  to  confine  the  golden  atmos 
phere  of  California  in  a  bird  cage. 

The  news  soon  spread  to  the  ends  of  the  earth.  The 
"gold  fever"  was  contagious.  Men  left  their  occupa 
tions  everywhere  and  flocked  to  California  in  great 
numbers.  When  they  heard  of  the  great  discovery 
they  simply  dropped  their  tools,  put  a  few  articles  of 
clothing  into  a  little  bag,  and  started  out. 

They  expected  to  pick  up  gold  in  the  beds  of  the 
streams  or  dig  it  out  of  the  surface  of  the  earth.  Dur 
ing  the  summer  of  1849  ^  roads  led  to  the  Pacific 
Coast.  By  mid-summer-it  is  estimated  that  California 
contained  one  hundred  thousand  people.  San  Fran 
cisco  had  grown  from  almost  nothing  to  a  city  of  twenty 
thousand. 

The  story  of  Captain  Sutter  is  an  intensely  interesting 
one.  He  was  born  in  Germany  and  studied  in  Switzer 
land.  He  served  in  the  Swiss  army  for  several  years 
and  then  came  to  Missouri  and  became  a  citizen  of  the 
United  States.  Here  he  engaged  in  the  cattle  business 
and  drove  hundreds  of  animals  over  the  old  Santa  Fe 
trail. 

Besides  English  and  German  he  could  speak  French 


244 


THE  MAKERS  OF  AMERICA 


and  Spanish  fluently  and  so  could  carry  on  business 
in  Mexico  or  almost  anywhere  else.  He  was  very  suc 
cessful  and  became  known  as  a  great  trader  all  through 
the  West. 


EMIGRANTS  GOING  WEST 

They  are  making  camp  for  the  night  and  are  going  to  have  some 
prairie  chickens  for  supper. 

Like  many  others  he  was  attracted  by  the  stories 
which  travelers  told  of  the  wonderful  climate,  the  fer 
tile  soil  and  the  natural  beauty  of  the  Pacific  Coast. 
Accompanied  by  a  few  men  he  set  out  on  a  journey 
over  thousands  of  miles  of  rugged  country,  many  parts 
of  which  had  never  been  pressed  by  the  foot  of  a 
white  man. 

First  he  went  up  to  Oregon,  then  down  the  Colum- 


THE  GOLDEN  SOUTHWEST 


245 


bia  River  to  the  coast,  and  then  on  to  the  Hawaiian 
Islands.  From  these  islands  he  pushed  on  in  a  pur 
chased  freight  boat  to  Sitka,  the  capital  of  Alaska. 
Alaska  at  that  time,  was  owned  by  Russia.  After 
looking  about  for  a  time  he  sailed  back  to  San  Fran 
cisco  Bay  (1839).  There 
on  the  banks  of  the  Sac-, 
ramento  River  he  estab 
lished  a  little  colony  and 
set  himself  up  in  business. 
In  a  short  time  he  became 
very  wealthy. 

Sutter's  Fort,  as  his 
colony  was  called,  became 
widely  known  in  the  West 
and  was  visited  by  many 
travelers.  Here  they  always 
found  cheer  and  comfort  and 
a  hearty  welcome.  Captain 
Sutter  was  always  ready  to 
lend  a  helping  hand  to  a 
fellow  man  in  distress. 

In  the  meantime  the  Mexicans  had  heard  of  Sutter's 
Fort  and  threatened  to  drive  him  out  of  the  country. 
Just  at  this  time,  however,  the  Mexican  War  came  on 
and  John  C.  Fremont  appeared  at  the  head  of  a  small 
band  of  American  soldiers  and  took  possession  of  the  post. 

We  have  already  noticed  that  gold  was  discovered 
on  the  lands  of  Captain  Sutter  in  1848.  We  would  all 


CAPTAIN  JOHN  SUTTER 

Captain  Sutter  at  one  time  was 
one  of  the  leading  men  on  the 
Pacific  Coast.  Although  gold 
was  found  on  his  property  he 
died  a  poor  man. 


246  THE  MAKERS  OF  AMERICA 

like,  I  imagine,  to  find  a  vein  of  gold  on  our  farm  or 
in  our  door  yard.  But  the  discovery  in  the  case  of 
Captain  Sutter  was  little  less  than  a  calamity.  All  of 
his  fine  estate  in  California  was  taken  away  from  him. 
It  is  possible  that  his  title  to  it  was  not  very  good  in 
the  first  place,  and  yet  Mexico  had  given  it  to  him  as 
a  reward  for  military  services.  Anyway  he  lost  his  lands 
and  his  cattle  and  died  a  poor  man  in  Washington,  B.C., 
in  1880. 

JUNIPERO   SERRA,    SPANISH  MISSIONARY 

Of  names  illustrious  in  the  pioneer  mission  field  of  America 
none  is  more  renowned  than  Junipero  Serra. 

-  HERBERT  E.  BOLTON 

Not  all  the  people  of  the  Golden  Southwest  were 
seeking  for  gold.  Some  of  them  were  laying  up 
treasures  in  heaven.  This  was  true  of  the  early  Span 
ish  missionaries.  Many  of  these  men  left  fame  and 
comfort  in  the  Old  World  in  order  "to  enter  the  labor 
ious  and  perilous  life  of  a  missionary  to  the  savages. 
It  was  a  life  that  promised  little  but  hardships,  disap 
pointment,  danger,  to  be  cut  short,  perhaps,  by  a 
death  of  agony  at  the  hands  of  those  he  sought  to 
save." 

These  missionaries  had  a  lively  interest  in  th'e  spiritual 
welfare  of  the  children  of  the  forest  and  tried  to  teach 
them  the  principles  of  Christianity.  In  order  to  do  this 
they  learned  the  Indian  dialects  and  then,  by  a  very 


THE  GOLDEN  SOUTHWEST 


247 


slow  and  difficult  process,  they  gave  them  their  lessons 
in  religion. 

The  missionaries  also  taught  them  how  to  work  and 
to  play  and  to  live  better,  cleaner,  and  more  com 
fortable  lives.  They  taught  the  Indians  new  games  to 
take  the  place  of  more  cruel 
ones,  They  also  furnished 
them  with  a  better  kind  of 
amusements. 

In  all  of  this  work  Junipero 
Serra,  a  Catholic  missionary, 
was  a  leader.  He  was ' '  gentle, 
loving,  and  selfless."  He 
sought  no  profit  for  himself. 
He  owned  no  property.  He 
lived  in  a  cell  very  rudely 
furnished  and  had  none  of 
the  real  comforts  of  life. 

His  work  was  much  appre 
ciated  by  the  Indians.  They 
called  him  " Father"  and  loved  him  as  such.  They 
mourned  his  death.  "From  far  and  near,  the  Indians 
who  venerated  him  came  to  strew  his  coffin  with  flowers. 
And  they  wept  bitterly  that  their  Padre  (Father), 
now  silent  in  death,  would  never  again  greet  them  with 
his  habitual  tender  admonition  ...  to  love  God." 

The  Spanish  missionaries  were  a  powerful  influence  in 
the  early  civilization  of  the  Golden  Southwest. 


JUNIPERO  SERRA 

Serra  was  probably  the  fore 
most  Spanish  missionary  to 
America. 


248  THE  MAKERS  OF  AMERICA 

All  in  all,  indeed,  Serra  was  the  outstanding  Spanish  pioneer 
of  California. 

—  HERBERT  E.  BOLTON 


HINTS  AND   QUESTIONS 

1.  Wnere  is 'the  Golden  Southwest? 

2.  Why  did  Texans  remember  the  Alamo? 

3.  What  was  the   "  Lone  Star  Republic"?     How  long  did  it 

last? 

4.  Who  was  Sam  Houston? 

5.  Why  did  the  annexation  of  Texas  lead  to  a  war  with  Mexico? 

6.  Locate:    Rio  Grande,  Alamo,  San  Jacinto. 

7.  Who  was  "  Davy  "  Crockett? 

8.  Why  was  John  C.  Fremont  called  "  the  Pathfinder  "? 

9.  Who  was  "Kit"  Carson? 

10.  Who  were  "The  Forty-Niners  "? 

11.  What  kind  of  work  did  the  Spanish  Missionaries  do  in  the 

Golden  Southwest? 

12.  How  much  territory  did  the  United  States  get  from  Mexico 

at  the  close  of  the  Mexican  War? 

PRONOUNCING  LIST 

Houston     hu'stun  San  Jacinto     san  ja-sm'to 

Alamo     a/la-mo  Buena  Vista     bu'na  vis'ta 

Junipero  Serra  ho-ni'pa-ro  sar'ra 

Hawaiian    ha-wl'yan 

Padre    pa'dra 


CHAPTER  XV 
THREE   GREAT  AMERICAN   STATESMEN 

DANIEL  WEBSTER,  ORATOR,  LAWYER,  AND  STATESMAN 

Let  our  object  be  our  Country,  our  whole  Country,  . 
and  nothing  but  our  Country.  And  by  the  blessing  of 
God  may  that  Country  itself  become  a  vast  and  splen 
did  monument,  not  of  oppression  and  terror,  but  of 
wisdom,  of  peace,  of  liberty,  upon  which  the  world 
may  gaze  with  admiration  forever. 

-DANIEL  WEBSTER 

WE  HAVE  now  come  to  a  point  where  our  country  is 
entering  upon  the  second  great  stage  or  period  of  its  Na 
tional  life.  Independence  has  been  won,  the  new  form  of 
government  has  been  put  into  operation,  and  the  terri 
tory  has  been  rounded  out  from  ocean  to  ocean.  The 
Fathers  of  the  Republic  have,  for  the  most  part,  passed 
away  and  a  new  set  of  men  have  taken  charge  of  "the 
Ship  of  State." 

One  of  the  most  noted  of  these  was  Daniel  Webster, 
the  famous  orator,  lawyer,  and  statesman.  Webster 
was  also  one  of  the  most  noted  students  of  the  Con 
stitution  that  ever  lived.  Washington  was  the  founder 
of  the  American  Union;  Webster  was  the  preacher  of 

the  Union;   and  Lincoln  was  the  savior  of  the  Union. 

249 


250 


THE  MAKERS  OF  AMERICA 


Daniel  Webster,  America's  greatest  orator,  was  born 
in  New  Hampshire  a  few  months  after  the  American 
forces  had  won  the  battle  of  Yorktown.  He  was  a  sickly 
little  fellow  and  was  not  called  upon  to  do  the  heavy 
work  of  the  backwoods  farm.  He  was  also  the  ninth 

child  in  the  family  so  that 
the  elder  children  were  prob 
ably  able  to  do  the  farm  work 
without  his  assistance. 

This  arrangement  gave  the 
young  Daniel  an  excellent 
opportunity  to  play,  to 
ramble  in  the  woods,  and 
thus  to  improve  his  health. 
It  also  gave  him  an  oppor 
tunity  to  study  the  habits  of 
birds  and  animals,  which  he 
delighted  to  do. 

He  started  to  school  when 
he  was  very  young  and  learned 
his  lessons  easily  and  rapidly. 
On  one  occasion  his  teacher 
offered  a  pocketknife  as  a 
prize  to  the  pupil  who  could  recite  the  greatest  number 
of  verses  from  the  Bible.  The  next  day,  when  the  test 
came,  Daniel  recited  verse  after  verse  until  the  teacher 
suddenly  stopped  him  and  handed  him  the  prize.  He  was 
able,  apparently,  to  go  on  almost  without  limit. 

Daniel  did  well  in  school  and  continued  to  grow  strong 


DANIEL  WEBSTER 

America's  foremost  orator  was 
majestic    in    appearance. 


He 


pleaded  for  an  everlasting  union 
of  the  states. 


THREE  GREAT  AMERICAN  STATESMEN  251 

both  in  mind  and  body.  His  physical  growth  was  quite 
remarkable.  From  a  frail  child  he  grew  to  be  a  strong, 
massive,  and  sturdy  man. 

He  was  also  a  man  of  noble  presence.  Thomas  Car- 
lyle,  the  great  English  writer,  called  him  "a  magnificent 
specimen  of  manhood." 

His  voice  was  strong  and  pleasing.  When  he  thun 
dered  forth  his  great  orations  he  was  tremendously 
impressive —  so  much  so,  that  men  came  to  call  him  "the 
God-like  Daniel."  It  was  said  that  every  word  he  spoke 
"  weighed  a  pound." 

He  entered  Dartmouth  College  in  New  Hampshire  at 
the  age  of  fifteen  and  was  soon  looked  upon  as  a  most 
remarkable  student.  His  fine  presence  and  his  unusual 
ability  as  a  public  speaker  made  him  a  marked  man. 
While  still  a  student  he  was  invited  to  give  the  4th  of 
July  oration  in  the  college  town.  He  did  this  with  such 
a  display  of  learning  and  oratorical  ability  that  he  be 
came  famous  almost  from  that  day. 

After  graduating  from  college  at  the  age  of  nineteen 
he  began  to  study  law  and  to  teach  school  at  the  same 
time.  The  money  which  he  got  for  his  first  year  of  teach 
ing  he  gave  to  one  of  his  brothers  to  help  him  through 
college. 

Politics  went  hand  in  hand  with  law.  In  1812  Webster 
was  elected  to  serve  in  the  Lower  House  of  Congress. 
These  were  stirring  times.  The  War  of  1812  was  on  and 
the  young  man  plunged  into  the  thick  of  the  debates. 
The  contest  became  exceedingly  bitter  and,  on  one  oc- 


252 


THE  MAKERS  OF  AMERICA 


casion,  Webster  was  challenged  to  fight  a  duel,  but  very 
sensibly  declined. 
A  few  years  later  he  was  elected  to  the  United  States 


WEBSTER'S  REPLY  TO  HAYNE  IN  THE  U.  S.  SENATE,  1830 

Webster  spoke  for  four  hours  on  this  occasion.    Some  of  the  people 
in  the  galleries  came  hundreds  of  miles  to  hear  him. 

Senate.  Here  was  the  scene  of  his  greatest  triumphs. 
Here  he  crossed  swords  in  debate  with  the  greatest 
men  of  the  nation,  including  John  C.  Calhoun  and 
Robert  Y.  Hayne. 


THREE  GREAT  AMERICAN  STATESMEN  253 

Later  still  he  became  Secretary  of  State  in  the  Presi 
dent's  Cabinet.  He  was  also  a  candidate  for  the 
Presidency  of  the  United  States  but  was  never  elected  to 
that  office. 

Webster's  greatest  fame,  however,  is  based  upon  his 
oratorical  ability.  He  spoke  on  many  patriotic  occasions 
but  his  favorite  subject  was  the  Constitution  of  the 
United  States. 

He  also  delivered  many  able  speeches  in  the  courts  of 
law  and  was  greatly  sought  after  in  important  cases. 

His  most  famous  oration  is  his  "Reply  to  Hayne," 
delivered  in  the  United  States  Senate  in  1830.  Senator 
Hayne  of  South  Carolina  in  the  course  of  a  speech  had 
declared  that  the  Constitution  was  a  " compact"  or  an 
agreement  from  which  any  state  might  withdraw  when 
ever  it  saw  fit.  Webster  denied  this.  He  claimed  that 
the  union  of  the  states  was  everlasting  and  could  not  be 
broken.  He  said  that  no  state  could  withdraw. 

This  debate  caused  great  excitement  all  over  the  coun 
try  as  well  as  in  Washington.  People  came  from  long 
distances  to  hear  the  great  oratorical  gladiators.  The 
hotels  were  filled  and  the  Capitol  Building  itself  was 
crowded  to  its  utmost  capacity.  People  were  extremely 
anxious  to  get  a  glimpse  of  the  great  orators  and  to  listen 
to  the  persuasive  tones  of  their  voices. 

Webster  spoke  for  four  hours  without  manuscript  and 
without  immediate  preparation.  The  effect  was  wonder 
ful.  He  was  tremendously  effective  in  action.  "Eye, 
brow,  each  feature,  every  line  of  the  face  seemed  touched, 


254  THE  MAKERS  OF  AMERICA 

as  with  celestial  fire.  The  swell  and  roll  of  his  voice 
struck  upon  the  ears  of  the  spellbound  audience,  in  deep 
and  melodious  cadence,  as  waves  upon  the  shore  of  the 
far-resounding  sea." 

Webster  continued  in  public  life  for  more  than  twenty 
years  after  his  great  triumph,  and  died  at  his  beautiful 
home  in  Marshfield,  Massachusetts,  in  1852,  at  the  age 
of  seventy  years. 

The  boundless  prairie  learned  his  name, 
His  words  the  mountain  echoes  knew; 

The  northern  breezes  swept  his  fame 
From  icy  lake  to  warm  bayou. 

—  OLIVER  WENDELL  HOLMES 

HENRY  CLAY,  "THE  GREAT  PEACEMAKER" 

Personally,  he  was  one  of  the  most  attractive  char 
acters  in  our  history. 

Henry  Clay  was  another  famous  son  of  old  Virginia. 
He  was  born  in  that  state  in  the  midst  of  the  American 
Revolution  and,  like  most  country  boys  of  his  time,  re 
ceived  his  early  education  in  an  old  log  school  house. 
His  father  was  John  Clay,  a  Baptist  preacher,  of  fine 
oratorical  ability.  He  died  when  Henry  was  quite  a 
young  boy  and  left  to  his  wife  the  task  of  rearing  their 
seven  children  without  sufficient  means.  Henry  did  what 
he  could  to  assist  his  mother  in  this  difficult  undertaking. 
He  worked  in  a  drug  store  for  a  time  and  was  always 
willing  to  do  anything  that  turned  up. 


THREE  GREAT  AMERICAN  STATESMEN 


255 


When  quite  young  he  began  the  study  of  law.  About 
this  time  his  family  moved  to  Kentucky.  Henry  re 
mained  behind  for  a  while  but  at  the  age  of  twenty  he  fol 
lowed  his  family  "to  grow  up  with  the  West."  He  then 
opened  a  law  office  in  Lexing 
ton. 

Clay  entered  politics  as  a 
young  man  and  was  elected 
to  the  Kentucky  State  Legis 
lature.  Soon  after  this,  and 
when  only  twenty-nine  years 
of  age,  he  was  appointed  to 
fill  a  vacancy  in  the  United 
States  Senate.  He  was  really 
too  young  to  be  a  Senator  but 
nothing  was  said  about  it  at 
the  time. 

Later  he  was  elected  to  the 
Lower  House  of  Congress  and 
was  the  Speaker,  or  presiding 
officer  of  that  house,  for  five 
terms.  He  made  a  splendid 
record  in  this  office.  He  is  now  looked  upon  as  one  of 
the  greatest  Speakers  the  House  of  Representatives  has 
ever  had. 

He  became  Secretary  of  State  in  the  administration  of 
John  Quincy  Adams.  He  then  went  for  a  second  time  to 
the  Senate  of  the  United  States  where  he,  Daniel  Webster, 
and  John  C.  Calhoun  were  known  as  the  "Big  Three." 


HENRY  CLAY 

This  picture  represents  "the 
mill  boy  of  the  Slashes"  in 
his  old  age. 


256 


THE  MAKERS  OF  AMERICA 


He  was  nominated  for  the  Presidency  twice  and  was 
twice  defeated.  After  one  of  his  defeats  he  is  said  to  have 
remarked,  "I  would  rather  be  right  than  be  President." 


HENRY  CLAY  SPEAKING  IN  THE  U.  S.  SENATE 

The  chamber  and  the  galleries  were  always  crowded  when  Clay 
spoke.     See  if  you  can  find  Calhoun  and  Webster  in  the  picture. 

In  1812  he  was  one  of  the  so-called  " war-hawks"  who 
stirred  up  the  country  to  war  against  England.  England 
at  this  time  was  making  raids  on  our  merchant  ships  and 
impressing  American  sailors  into  her  service.  Clay 


THREE  GREAT  AMERICAN  STATESMEN  257 

thought  that  we  ought  to  put  a  stop  to  this  and  to  go  to 
war  if  necessary. 

Clay  was  also  one  of  the  great  orators  of  his  time. 
He  had  one  of  the  most  pleasing  and  captivating  voices 
ever  possessed  by  a  public  speaker.  He  was  also  exceed 
ingly  attractive  personally  and  his  ways  were  winning. 

He  had  many  nicknames.  He  was  called  "  the  mill 
boy  of  the  Slashes"  because  he  was  born  in  the  part  of 
Virginia  known  by  that  name.  The  " Slashes"  were  a 
great  tract  of  "  marsh  land  overgrown  with  bushes." 
Clay  as  a  boy  was  often  seen  on  horseback  carrying  his 
grist  to  the  mill. 

He  was  also  called  "the  great  peacemaker"  because 
he  was  able  to  settle  so  many  bitter  disputes  in  American 
history.  Most  of  these  related  to  slavery. 

After  a  long  and  brilliant  career  Clay  died  in  Wash 
ington,  D.C.,  at  the  age  of  seventy-five.  His  remains 
were  taken  from  that  city  to  their  final  resting  place  in 
Lexington,  Kentucky.  His  memory  was  honored  all 
along  the  line.  In  New  York  a  memorial  procession  was 
held  in  which  a  large  silk  banner  was  carried  bearing  this 
inscription : 

Hearts  which  glow  for  freedom's  sway, 
Come  and  mourn  for  Henry  Clay. 

If  any  one  desires  to  know  the  leading  and  paramount  object 
of  my  public  life,  the  preservation  of  this  Union  will  furnish 
him  the  key. 

—  HENRY  CLAY 


258 


THE  MAKERS  OF  AMERICA 


JOHN  C.  CALHOUN 
I  am  a  States'  Rights  man. 

-JOHN  C.  CALHOUN 

The  third  member  of  the  "Big  Three"  was  John  C. 
Calhoun  of  South  Carolina.  Calhoun,  like  Webster  and 
Clay,  was  a  lawyer,  a  statesman,  and  a  student  of  the 

Constitution.  He  differed, 
however,  in  many  ways  from 
the  other  two  great  men. 

Webster  exalted  the  powers 
of  the  national  government 
over  those  of  the  states.  Cal 
houn  exalted  the  powers  of 
the  states  over  those  of  the 
national  government.  "  I  am 
a  States'  Rights  man,"  he 
exclaimed  in  one  of  his  great 
speeches.  And  he  remained 
so  to  the  end  of  his  days. 

Webster  held  that  the  union 
of  the  states  could  not  be 
broken.  Calhoun  claimed 
that  a  state  could  withdraw 
from  the  Union  at  any  time 
it  wished  to  do  so.  When  Calhoun's  own  state,  South 
Carolina  withdrew,  or  seceded,  from  the  Union  in  1860 
the  Civil  War  came  on. 


JOHN  C.  CALHOUN 

John  C.  Calhoun  of  South 
Carolina  was  one  of  the  greatest 
orators  and  lawyers  of  the 
South.  He  was  an  opponent 
of  Webster. 


THREE  GREAT  AMERICAN  STATESMEN  259 

Clay  looked  upon  the  Constitution  and  the  national 
government  in  much  the  same  way  that  Webster  did.  He 
said,  if  the  union  of  the  states  were  ever  broken  he  hoped 
he  would  not  live  to  see  the  " heart  rending"  spectacle. 

Webster  was  a  New  England  man,  while  Clay  and 
Calhoun  were  born  in  the  South. 

Calhoun  remained  during  his  whole  life  in  his  native 
state,  while  Clay's  active  life  was  spent  in  Kentucky,  a 
"  border  state." 

All  three  of  these  men  were  in  the  Senate  of  the  United 
States  at  one  time  and  all  three  died  about  the  same 
time.  Webster  and  Clay  passed  away  in  1852  and  Cal 
houn  in  1850.  The  three  men  were  intellectual  giants 
and  took  part  in  some  of  the  most  notable  debates  in  our 
history. 

John  C.  Calhoun  was  a  member  of  a  Scotch-Irish 
family.  His  father  was  born  in  Ireland  and  was  brought 
to  America  when  he  was  six  years  old.  The  Calhoun 
family  lived  in  Pennsylvania  and  Virginia  for  a  short 
time  but  soon  found  its  way  to  the  northern  part  of 
South  Carolina. 

Here  John  was  born  in  1782  —  the  year  after  the  sur 
render  at  York  town.  His  father  died  while  John  was 
still  a  small  boy  and  the  mother  and  the  children  lived 
a  simple  and  quiet  life  on  a  small  farm.  The  young  boy 
had  very  little  opportunity  of  going  to  school  and  so  he 
roamed  about  the  woods  and  studied  the  birds  and  trees 
instead. 


260 


THE  MAKERS  OF  AMERICA 


Finally  when  he  was  eighteen  years  of  age  he  made  up 
his  mind  to  prepare  for  college.  By  hard  work  he  was 
ready  in  two  years  and  entered  Yale.  He  was  graduated 
from  that  institution  two  years  later.  He  always  felt 


WEBSTER,  CLAY,  AND  CALHOUN 

that  his  preparation  for  college  was  too  hasty  and  not  as 
thorough  as  he  would  have  liked  it.  This  was  some 
thing  of  a  handicap  to  him  in  his  later  life. 

After  graduating  from  Yale  he  remained  in  Connecti 
cut  for  a  while  studying  law.  He  then  returned  to  South 
Carolina  for  the  practice  of  his  profession.  His  career 


THREE  GREAT  AMERICAN  STATESMEN  261 

from  this  time  on  is  closely  connected  with  the  history 
of  his  native  state. 

Like  Clay,  Calhoun  was  a  " war-hawk"  and  said  in 
Congress  that  the  United  States  should  go  to  war  with 
England  to  put  a  stop  to  the  outrages  on  American  ships 
and  sailors. 

Calhoun  was  a  Cabinet  member,  Vice-President  of  the 
United  States,  and  for  many  years  a  member  of  the 
United  States  Senate. 

In  all  of  these  positions  he  showed  marked  ability.  He 
is  best  known,  however,  on  account  of  his  views  on  the 
nature  of  the  Constitution.  These  views,  as  we  have 
seen,  were  the  direct  opposite  of  those  of  Webster.  The 
majority  of  the  people  of  the  United  States  accepted  the 
views  of  Webster,  and  John  C.  Calhoun  thus  found  him 
self  "an  advocate  of  a  lost  cause." 

He  died  in  Washington,  D.C.,  in  1850  and  many  pil 
grims  now  visit  his  burial  place  in  the  old  churchyard  at 
Charleston,  South  Carolina. 

HINTS  AND   QUESTIONS 

1.  How  did  Webster  and  Calhoun  differ  in  their  ideas  on  the 

Constitution? 

2.  Where  did  Daniel  Webster  go  to  College? 

3.  What  was  the  "  Reply  to  Hayne  "? 

4.  What  did   Clay  mean  by  his  remark,   "  I  would  rather  be 

right  than  be  President "  ? 
6.   Who  were  the  War-hawks? 
6.   What  is  a  "  States'  Rights  man"? 


CHAPTER  XVI 
"THE  BLUE  AND   THE   GRAY" 

THE  CLASHING  of  the  views  of  Webster  and  Calhoun 
became  general  between  the  North  and  the  South  and 
led  directly  to  a  great  "war  between  the  states."  The 
North  and  the  South  differed  over  the  slavery  problem. 
The  men  of  the  North  wanted  to  keep  slavery  out  of  the 
new  territories  and  to  restrict  it  in  many  other  ways. 
The  men  of  the  South  were  opposed  to  all  this.  They 
felt  that  they  had  a  right  to  take  their  slaves  with  them 
wherever  they  went.  They  also  felt  that  their  slaves 
should  be  protected  by  law  in  the  same  way  that  other 
property  was  protected. 

After  quarreling  over  the  matter  for  forty  or  fifty  years 
without  coming  to  any  agreement  the  southern  states, 
following  the  views  of  Calhoun,  withdrew  from  the 
Union.  South  Carolina,  Calhoun's  own  state,  was  the 
first  to  secede.  The  others  followed  soon  after. 

The  northern  states,  following  the  views  of  Webster, 
claimed  that  the  South  had  no  right  to  withdraw.  Both 
sides  felt  that  they  were  right  and  both  were  very  much 
in  earnest.  They  took  up  arms,  and  the  result  was  a  ter 
rible  and  bloody  war  which  lasted  for  four  years. 

262 


" THE  BLUE  AND  THE  GRAY"         263 

ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  "THE  GREAT  EMANCIPATOR" 

Abraham  Lincoln,  known  among  the  slaves  of  the 
South  as  "  Father  Abraham,"  was  President  of  the 
United  States  during  this  war. 

Lincoln's  grandfather  owned  a  farm  in  western 
Virginia.  He  was  apparently  quite  well-to-do.  Families, 
on  their  way  west,  were  in  the  habit  of  passing  the 
Lincoln  homestead.  They  also  stopped  and  talked  now 
and  then.  After  a  time  Lincoln  also  caught  the  western 
fever.  He  sold  his  farm  and  struck  out  with  his  family 
for  the  Cumberland  Gap  and  the  "  Wilderness  Road." 
He  was  headed  for  "the  dark  and  bloody  ground." 
Lincoln,  by  the  way,  was  an  intimate  friend  of  Daniel 
Boone,  the  Indian  fighter,  and  Mrs.  Lincoln  was  a  cousin 
of  the  great  Daniel. 

A  short  time  after  this,  Lincoln  was  killed  by  the  In 
dians  and  left  his  widow  and  five  small  children  to  make 
their  wray  in  the  world  almost  unaided.  The  youngest 
boy,  a  lad  named  Thomas,  at  the  age  of  six,  became  a 
"wandering  laboring  boy,"  picking  up  a  few  cents  for 
odd  jobs  wherever  he  could.  Later  he  was  a  sort  of 
carpenter  and  worked  about  wherever  he  could  find 
anything  to  do.  He  married  Nancy  Hanks,  a  very 
bright  and  attractive  young  girl.  Nancy  was  tall  and 
frail,  delicate  in  health,  and  her  strength  was  not  equal 
to  the  hardships  of  the  frontier  life. 

The  happy  young  couple  set  up  housekeeping  in  an  old 
shed.  "Tom"  Lincoln  was  not  much  of  a  carpenter  and 


264  THE  MAKERS  OF  AMERICA 

things  did  not  go  well  with  him.  He  gave  up  car 
penter  work  and  took  to  farming.  About  sixty  miles 
south  of  Louisville  he  built  the  rudest  kind  of  log  cabin. 
It  had  no  floor  aside  from  the  earth  and  contained  only 
one  room.  It  had  no  doors,  nor  windows,  nor  pictures 
on  the  walls.  In  the  midst  of  these  bleak  and  barren 
surroundings,  on  the  i2th  day  of  February,  1809, 
Abraham  Lincoln,  one  of  the  world's  greatest  men,  was 
born. 

This  historic  log  cabin  was  located  on  the  Rock  Spring 
Farm  in  Hardin  County,  Kentucky.  The  original  cabin 
has  vanished  but  it  has  since  been  rebuilt  and  is  being 
carefully  preserved.  The  old  farm  has  also  been  pur 
chased  and  will  be  kept  in  honor  of  the  "  First  American.'' 

Things  were  going  pretty  well  with  this  pioneer  family, 
but  Thomas  Lincoln  had  a  "wandering  foot."  He  soon 
moved  his  family  to  another  locality  not  very  far  away. 
At  this  place  he  built  another  log  cabin  much  like  the  first. 
Here  the  boy  Abe  and  his  sister  Nancy,  two  years  older 
than  he,  went  to  school  for  a  short  time.  It  was  to  this 
cabin  that  Abe  brought  great  bundles  of  spicewood 
branches  to  burn  in  the  open  fireplace.  By  the  light  of 
the  brilliant  blaze  he  studied  his  lessons  or  listened  to 
his  mother  as  she  read  to  him. 

A  spirit  of  restlessness  again  came  over  Thomas  Lin 
coln  and  he  determined  to  pull  up  stakes  and  move  on. 
He  had  heard  great  tales  of  the  Indiana  country  to  the 
north.  Putting  his  household  goods  on  a  rude  raft  he 
floated  them  down  a  small  creek  to  the  Ohio  and  down 


"THE  BLUE  AND   THE  GRAY"  265 

to  what  is  now  Spencer  County,  Indiana.  Here  he  left 
the  river,  plunged  fifteen  miles  into  the  forest,  and 
selected  the  site  for  his  new  home. 

He  then  walked  back  to  the  old  Kentucky  cabin  and 
brought  his  family  on  horseback  to  the  new  home  in 
Indiana.  Abe  was  seven  and  Nancy  was  nine  at  this 
time. 

It  was  a  weird  sight  that  presented  itself  to  the  eyes 
of  the  young  children.  "In  these  woods  the  children 
saw  many  strange  wild  animals.  Here  was  the  home  of 
the  deer  and  the  wild  cat,  the  wolf  and  the  bear.  In 
the  fallen  leaves  and  undergrowth  crept  copperheads  and 
rattlesnakes,  while  in  the  shadow  of  the  trees  they  saw 
more  birds  than  the  little  boy  and  girl  could  count. 
Stately,  solitary  cranes  waded  in  the  shallow  water  of 
the  creek;  overhead  were  flocks  of  screaming  green  and 
yellow  paroquets;  and  in  the  more  open  places  occasional 
wild  turkeys  were  seen."  1 

The  father  and  son  built  a  "half-faced"  camp  for  the 
winter.  It  was  too  late  in  the  season  (November)  to 
build  a  regular  log  cabin.  This  camp  was  open  on  one 
side  although  the  thermometer  dropped  during  the  winter 
to  eleven  degrees  below  zero.  A  huge  bonfire  outside  the 
cabin  was  kept  burning  day  and  night  in  order  to  keep 
the  family  comfortable  and  the  wild  animals  from  the 
door. 

"We  can  picture  the  boy  and  girl  as  they  lay  by  night 

on  the  hard  earth  inside  their  half-faced  camp,  with  their 

1  Moores'  "  Abraham  Lincoln." 


266 


THE  MAKERS  OF  AMERICA 


feet  toward  the  blazing  fire,  and  enjoyed  the  dreamless 
sleep  that  their  tired  little  bodies  had  earned,  while  Tom 
Lincoln,  the  father,  listened  to  the  howl  of  the  storm  and, 
hearing  the  cry  of  the  wolf  somewhere  in  the  darkness, 
knew  that  he  must  keep  up  the  fire  or  harm  would  come." 
It  was  in  this  lonely  wilderness  that  frail  Nancy  Hanks 

Lincoln,  the  mother  of 
Abraham,  sickened 
and  died.  Thomas 
Lincoln  and  his  son 
made  a  rough  coffin 
from  slabs  of  green 
wood  and  laid  her  to 
rest  in  the  solemn 
forest.  Several 
months  after  this  time 
Abraham  succeeded  in 
getting  a  traveling 


LINCOLN  THE  RAIL-SPLITTER 


Lincoln  was  a  famous  rail-splitter  during 
his  early  life  in  Illinois.  Some  of  these 
rails  were  carried  in  the  political  parades 
of  1860  when  he  was  chosen  President. 


minister  to  come   to 
the  spot  and  conduct 
funeral  services  over 
the  grave  of  his  mother. 

For  a  time  Abe  went  about  the  country  splitting  rails 
and  doing  other  kinds  of  farm  work  for  twenty-five  cents 
a  day.  His  sister  did  housework  for  the  neighbors.  In 
the  meantime  also  he  was  reading  stray  books  and  asking 
questions  of  everybody  who  could  give  him  any  infor 
mation.  He  also  went  to  school  again  for  a  short  time 
and  studied  his  books  by  the  light  of  the  open  fire. 


THE  BLUE  AND   THE  GRAY" 


267 


Soon  Thomas  Lincoln's  foot  "  began  to  itch  again."  He 
had  heard  stories  of  the  great  fertility  of  the  prairie  land 
in  Illinois.  The  tide  of  immigration  was  still  flowing 
west  and  again  Lincoln  joined  the  great  caravan.  When 
his  ox  cart  set  out  it  was  accompanied  by  the  father, 
his  two  children,  and  a  stepmother  — a  wonderful  woman 
who  had  done  splendid  things  for  Abe  and  Nancy. 

Abraham  was  now  twenty-one  years  of  age  and  six 
feet  four  inches  tall. 
He  went  to  the  village 
of  New  Salem,  Illinois, 
worked  in  a  mill,  and 
clerked  in  a  store.  He 
also  made  a  business 
trip  to  New  Orleans 
on  a  flatboat  and 
while  there  came  into 
contact  with  the  cruelties  of  slavery.  The  sight  made  a 
deep  impression  upon  his  mind,  and  led  him  to  say,  "If 
I  ever  get  a  chance  to  hit  slavery,  I'll  hit  it  hard." 

While  in  New  Salem  he  was  appointed  postmaster  of 
the  village  and  was  accustomed  to  carry  the  letters  about 
in  his  high  hat  and  deliver  them  to  their  owners  as  he 
met  them  upon  the  streets.  He  also  ran  a  general  store 
for  a  time  but  this  venture  soon  failed,  and  left  Lincoln 
badly  in  debt.  He  went  to  work,  however,  and  quickly 
paid  off  the  debts  of  his  partner  and  himself.  The  sum 
was  not  large  but  to  him  it  seemed  enormous  and  he 
frequently  referred  to  it  as  "the  national  debt." 


LINCOLN  THE  POSTMASTER 


268  THE  MAKERS  OF  AMERICA 

When  he  was  twenty-three  years  of  age  another  great 
sorrow  came  into  his  life.  He  met  Ann  Rutledge,  a  "fair- 
haired,  delicate  girl  of  nineteen,"  and  fell  deeply  in 
love  with  her.  He  won  her  hand  and  was  looking  fondly 
forward  to  his  wedding  day  when  she  was  taken  sud 
denly  ill  and  died.  He  was  terribly  depressed.  One 
night  he  exclaimed  in  anguish:  "I  cannot  forget.  The 
thought  of  the  snow  and  the  rain  on  her  grave  fills  me 
with  an  indescribable  grief. " 

Lincoln,  however,  labored  on  and  finally  succeeded  in 
gaining  a  good  education.  He  found  an  old  law  book  at 
the  bottom  of  a  barrel  of  rubbish  and  studied  it  with 
great  diligence.  He  borrowed  other  books  and  finally 
when  he  was  twenty-nine  years  of  age  he  was  admitted 
to  the  practice  of  law.  His  joy  knew  no  bounds.  He 
felt  that  he  was  now  well  started  on  his  life  work. 

Law  and  politics  often  go  hand  in  hand,  and  so  it  was 
in  Lincoln's  case.  In  the  practice  of  law  and  in  business 
Lincoln  was  so  honest  and  upright  that  the  people  every 
where  called  him  "  Honest  Abe."  This  fact,  of  course, 
helped  him  in  politics.  The  people  felt  that  they  could 
trust  him. 

He  shot  upward  rapidly  and  in  the  summer  of  1860 
was  nominated  by  the  Republicans  for  the  Presidency  of 
the  United  States.  He  was  elected  by  a  large  majority 
but  his  election  was  the  signal  for  a  war  between  the 
North  and  the  South. 

The  southern  states  said  that  they  would  withdraw 
from  the  Union  if  Lincoln  was  elected;  and  Lincoln  was 


"TEE  BLUE  AND  THE  GRAY" 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN 


270  THE  MAKERS  OF  AMERICA 

pledged,  in  case  of  his  election,  to  prevent  just  that 
thing. 

He  pleaded  with  the  southern  leaders  and  tried  in 
every  way  to  persuade  them  not  to  break  up  the  Union, 
but  all  to  no  avail.  In  his  first  inaugural  address  he 
spoke  as  follows: 

In  your  hands,  my  dissatisfied  fellow-countrymen,  and  not 
in  mine,  are  the  momentous  issues  of  civil  war.  The  government 
will  not  assail  you.  You  can  have  no  conflict  without  being 
yourselves  the  aggressors.  You  have  no  oath  registered  in 
Heaven  to  destroy  the  government,  while  I  shall  have  the  most 
solemn  one  to  'preserve,  protect,  and  defend'  it. 

I  am  loth  to  close.  We  are  not  enemies,  but  friends.  We 
must  not  be  enemies.  Though  passion  may  have  strained,  it 
must  not  break,  our  bonds  of  affection.  The  mystic  cords  of 
memory,  stretching  from  every  battlefield  and  patriot  grave 
to  every  living  heart  and  hearth-stone  all  over  this  broad  land, 
will  yet  swell  the  chorus  of  the  Union  when  again  touched, 
as  surely  they  will  be,  by  the  better  angels  of  our  nature. 

Four  years  later,  when  the  war  was  nearly  over,  he 
delivered  his  second  inaugural  address.  In  this  address 
he  showed,  more  than  ever  before,  the  largeness  of  his 
humanity.  In  conclusion  he  said: 

Fondly  do  we  hope,  fervently  do  we  pray,  that  this  mighty 
scourge  of  war  may  speedily  pass  away.  Yet  if  God  wills  that 
it  continue  until  all  the  wealth  piled  by  the  bondsman's  two 
hundred  and  fifty  years  of  unrequited  toil  shall  be  sunk,  and 
until  every  drop  of  blood  drawn  with  the  lash  shall  be  paid  by 
another  drawn  with  the  sword,  as  was  said  three  thousand 


"THE  BLUE  AND   THE  GRAY" 


271 
the 


years  ago,  so  still  it  must  be  said,  that  the  judgments  of 
Lord  are  true  and  righteous  altogether. 

With  malice  toward  none,  with  charity  for  all,  with  firmness 
in  the  right  as  God  gives  us  to  see  the  right,  let  us  finish  the 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  AT  GETTYSBURG  DELIVERING  His  FAMOUS 

SPEECH 

"  Government  of  the  people,  by  the  people,  and  for  the  people,  shall 
not  perish  from  the  earth." 

work  we  are  in,  to  bind  up  the  nation's  wounds,  to  care  for  him 
who  shall  have  borne  the  battle,  and  for  his  widow  and  his 
orphans,  to  do  all  which  may  achieve  and  cherish  a  just  and  a 
lasting  peace  among  ourselves  and  with  all  nations. 


272 


THE  MAKERS  OF  AMERICA 


On  another  occasion  Lincoln  made  a  notable  ad 
dress —  perhaps  the  most  notable  that  he  ever  made. 
In  the  midst  of  the  war  he  went  to  Gettysburg,  Penn 
sylvania,  to  speak  at 
the  dedication  of  the 
National  Cemetery. 
The  Battle  of  Gettys 
burg  was  the  turning 
point  of  the  war  and 
had  been  fought  on 
this  memorable  field 
a  few  months  before. 
A  part  of  the  field  had 
been  set  aside  as  a 
National  Cemetery 
and  a  distinguished 
party,  headed  by  the 
President,  went  to 
Gettysburg  to  dedi 
cate  it. 

Lincoln's  address  on 
this  occasion  is  one  of 
the  most  sublime  in 
the  English  language. 
In  closing  he  spoke  as 
follows: 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  FREEING  THE  SLAVES 
This  statue  is  in  the  city  of  Boston. 


It  is  rather  for  us  to  be  here  dedicated  to  the  great  task 
remaining  before  us,  that  from  these  honored  dead  we  take 
increased  devotion  to  that  cause  for  which  they  gave  the  last 


THE  BLUE  AND   THE  GRAY" 


273 


full  measure  of  devotion;  that  we  here  highly  resolve  that 
these  dead  shall  not  have  died  in  vain;  that  this  nation,  under 
God,  shall  have  a  new  birth  of  freedom,  and  that  government 
of  the  people,  by  the  people,  and  for  the  people,  shall  not  perish 
from  the  earth. 

The  death  of  the 
"Great  Emancipator" 
was  a  tragic  one.  On 
the  1 4th  of  April,  1865, 
while  attending  a  play 
in  a  Washington 
theater,  he  was  shot 
by  a  half -crazy  actor, 

named  John  Wilkes  Booth.  He  died  on  the  folio  wing 
day  and  his  death  was  mourned  by  the  whole  civilized 
world. 


THE  LINCOLN  MEMORIAL,  WASHINGTON, 
D.  C. 


JEFFERSON  DAVIS,  LEADER  OF  A  "Losx  CAUSE" 

When  the  southern  states  withdrew  from  the  Union, 
their  delegates  met  at  Montgomery,  Alabama,  and  formed 
a  Union  of  their  own  which  they  called  the  Confederate 
States  of  America.  Jefferson  Davis  of  Mississippi  was 
elected  President  of  the  new  Confederacy. 

Mr.  Davis  was  at  his  home  near  Vicksburg  when 
notified  of  his  election.  The  Capital  of  the  Confederacy 
had  been  located  at  Montgomery  (it  was  later  changed 
to  Richmond,  Virginia),  and  Mr.  Davis  hastened  to  that 
place  to  take  the  oath  of  office. 

His  journey   was   like   a   triumphal  procession.     He 


274 


THE  MAKERS  OF  AMERICA 


made  twenty-five  speeches  on  the  way  and  was  welcomed 
in  Montgomery  with  a  great  ovation.  When  he  got  off 
the  train  the  crowd  insisted  on  a  speech  and  he  said, 
among  other  things:  "We  are  now  determined  to  main 
tain  our  position.  We  will 
maintain  our  rights  and  our 
government  at  all  hazards. 
Our  separation  from  the 
Union  is  complete,  and  no 
compromise,  no  reconstruc 
tion,  can  now  be  entertained. " 
The  people  of  the  South 
were  not  blustering  as  some 
thought  at  this  time.  They 
were  most  terribly  in  earnest. 
Strangely  enough,  Jefferson 
Davis  was  born  in  Kentucky, 
only  a  short  distance  from 
the  log  cabin  which  was  the 
birthplace  of  Abraham 
Lincoln.  Davis  was  a  West 
Point  man  and  had  fought 
in  the  Mexican  War.  He 
served  as  President  of  the 
Southern  Confederacy  dur 
ing  the  entire  war  and  was  captured  by  Union  troops  a 
short  time  after  the  contest  closed.  He  was  in  prison 
for  a  time,  then  released  on  bail,  but  never  brought  to 
trial. 


JEFFERSON  DAVIS 

Mr.  Davis  was  President  of  the 
Southern  Confederacy  during 
its  entire  existence.  He  was 
born  in  Kentucky  but  was  a 
resident  of  Mississippi  at  the 
time  of  the  Civil  War. 


"THE  BLUE  AND   THE  GREY" 


275 


He  wrote  a  history  of  the  Southern  Confederacy  in  two 
large  volumes  and  died  four  years  later  (1889)  in  New 
Orleans  at  the  age  of  eighty-one. 

ULYSSES  S.  GRANT,  "THE  HERO  or  APPOMATTOX" 

When  asked  what  state  he  hails  from, 

Our  sole  reply  shall  be, 
He  comes  from  Appomattox 

And  its  famous  apple  tree. 

-MILES  O'REILLY 

The  two  opposing  armies  in  the  Civil  War  were  led  by 
Ulysses  S.  Grant  and  Robert  E.  Lee —  two  of  the  great 
est  military  comman 
ders  of  modern  times. 

General  Grant  was 
a  "  Buckeye."  He 
was  born  in  1822,  in 
Point  Pleasant,  Ohio, 
a  small  village  about 
twenty-five  miles 
from  Cincinnati.  A 


THE  BIRTHPLACE  or  U.  S.  GRANT 

He  rose  to  be  Commander-in-Chief  of  the 
Northern  Armies  and  later  was  President 
of  the  United  States  for  two  terms. 


little  later  the  Grant 
family  moved  to 
Georgetown,  Ohio, 
the  scene  of  the  boy 
hood  days  of  the  "  Silent  General.  " 

Ulysses  was  a  strong,  manly,  and  self-reliant  lad,  and 
made  himself  useful  on  the  farm  and  in  the  tannery 
owned  by  his  father. 


276  THE  MAKERS  OF  AMERICA 

The  father,  Jesse  Grant,  was  fairly  well  educated  for 
the  pioneer  times  and  wished  to  give  his  son  a  still  bet 
ter  education.  So  the  young  Ulysses  was  sent  away  to 
school  for  a  time  and  then  made  up  his  mind  that  he 
would  like  to  enter  the  United  States  Military  Academy 
at  West  Point,  New  York. 

When  it  became  known  about  the  village  that  Ulysses 
Grant  wished  to  become  a  cadet  at  West  Point,  the 
loafers  on  the  street  corners  laughed  heartily  at  the  idea. 
They  looked  upon  him  as  a  silent,  and  almost  stupid, 
sort  of  lad  without  any  of  the  qualities  of  a  soldier.  His 
father,  however,  never  lost  faith  in  his  son's  abilities. 

The  next  step  was  to  get  an  appointment  to  the  Acad 
emy.  After  some  delay,  the  home  Congressman  was 
induced  to  appoint  the  young  Grant  to  West  Point,  and 
Ulysses  set  out  for  the  Academy  in  high  spirits.  It 
might  be  said  at  this  point  that  his  real  name  was  Hiram 
Ulysses  Grant.  Since  the  young  lad  did  not  particular 
ly  fancy  this  combination  of  initials  he  made  up  his 
mind  to  register  at  the  Academy  as  Ulysses  Hiram 
Grant.  However,  the  Congressman  making  the  appoint 
ment  knew  that  his  name  was  Ulysses  and  that  his 
mother's  name  was  Simpson  and,  consequently,  appoint 
ed  him  as  Ulysses  Simpson  Grant  —  a  name  which  he 
bore  ever  after. 

Grant  didn't  have  a  very  good  time  during  his  first 
days  at  the  Academy.  He  was  not  very  well  dressed, 
was  rather  uncouth  in  appearance,  and  the  older  students 
made  no  end  of  fun  of  him.  He  had,  however,  put  his 
hand  to  the  plow  and  had  no  thought  of  turning  back. 


"THE  BLUE  AND   THE  GRAY"  277 

While  at  West  Point  he  was  a  student  of  about  aver 
age  ability  and  soon  became  known  as  a  fairly  good 
athlete  and  an  excellent  horseman.  After  a  time  he  also 
became  something  of  a  "good  fellow"  and  was  usually 
ready  for  a  frolic. 

One  night  a  chicken  was  being  roasted  in  Grant's 
room.  This,  of  course,  was  against  the  rules  of  the  Acad 
emy.  An  officer  suddenly  appeared  at  the  door,  where 
upon  Grant  hurriedly  concealed  the  chicken  and  stood  at 
"  attention."  The  officer  entered  and  Grant  saluted. 
The  officer  then  examined  the  ceiling  of  the  room  with 
great  care  and  said:  "Mr.  Grant,  I  think  there  is  a 
peculiar  odor  in  this  room."  "I  have  noticed  it,  sir," 
said  Grant.  "Be  careful  then  that  something  does  not 
catch  fire,"  said  the  officer.  "I  will,  thank  you,  sir," 
replied  Grant  with  a  salute.  The  interview  was  over 
and  the  feast  proceeded. 

The  four  years  at  the  Academy  developed  the  young 
lad  to  a  great  extent.  He  was  fairly  good  in  all  of  his 
studies  and  especially  so  in  Mathematics  and  Engineer 
ing.  As  a  horseman  he  had  few  superiors. 

After  finishing  his  course  at  West  Point  he  was  sent 
to  the  United  States  Military  Barracks  about  ten  miles 
from  St.  Louis.  It  was  here  that  he  became  acquainted 
with  Miss  Julia  Dent,  whom  he  afterwards  married. 

About  this  time  the  war  with  Mexico  broke  out  and 
Grant  was  ordered  to  Louisiana  to  prepare  for  active 
service.  He  was  Quartermaster  and  was  not  supposed 
to  take  part  in  the  battles.  On  one  occasion,  however, 


278  THE  MAKERS  OF  AMERICA 

he  mounted  his  horse  and  charged  with  the  rest  of  the 
"boys."  It  was  very  fortunate  that  he  did  so  as  the 
Commander  needed  a  messenger  to  ride  back  in  haste  for 
ammunition  and  reinforcements.  He  called  for  a  volun 
teer.  Grant  responded.  "You're  just  the  man  to  do 
it,"  said  the  Commander.  "Keep  on  the  side  streets 
and  ride  hard." 

Grant  dashed  off  at  a  full  gallop.  At  every  cross 
street  the  bullets  whizzed  by  his  ears  and  he  swung  down 
on  the  side  to  put  the  body  of  the  horse  between  him 
and  the  enemy.  While  in  this  position  he  forced  the 
animal  to  clear  a  wall  four  feet  high.  He  came  to  the 
end  of  his  trip  in  safety  and  delivered  his  message  on 
time. 

A  few  years  after  the  close  of  the  war  he  resigned  from 
the  army  and  went  back  to  his  father's  home.  He  was 
not  very  welcome  there.  His  father  had  begun  to  look 
upon  him  as  a  failure.  His  father-in-law,  Colonel  Dent, 
also  looked  upon  him  in  much  the  same  light.  Colonel 
Dent  turned  over  a  small  farm  to  Mrs.  Grant  and 
Ulysses  worked  hard  upon  it  to  support  his  wife  and 
two  children.  Without  a  word  of  complaint  he  broke 
up  the  land  and  built  a  rude  log  cabin  in  the  wilderness, 
which  was  very  appropriately  named  "Hardscrabble." 

His  health  then  began  to  fail  and  he  went  to  St.  Louis 
in  search  of  lighter  employment.  He  became  a  clerk  in 
in  a  real  estate  office  but  was  not  much  of  a  success  even 
there.  His  condition  was  pitiable.  He  lost  his  job  and 
went  out  into  the  streets  looking  for  employment. 


"THE  BLUE  AND   THE  GRAY"  279 

He  finally  drifted  back  to  Galena,  Illinois,  and  found 
employment  with  his  father  and  brothers.  Grant  was 
at  this  place  when  the  Civil  War  broke  out  and  took  an 
important  part  in  enlisting  men  for  the  army.  This 
work  gave  him  a  new  lease  on  life. 

He  explained  clearly  to  the  volunteers  what  their  en 
listment  meant.  "The  army,"  he  said,  "is  not  a  picnic 
party  nor  is  it  an  excursion.  You  will  have  hard  fare. 
You  may  be  obliged  to  sleep  on  the  ground  after  long 
marches  hi  the  rain  and  snow.  If  you  put  your  name 
down  you  should  know  what  it  means.  I  intend  to 
enlist  myself." 

Just  as 'soon  as  he  entered  the  army  he  made  himself 
felt.  He  didn't  say  much  but  he  did  a  great  deal.  He 
was  not  handsome  or  well  dressed  and  some  of  the  men 
were  inclined  to  make  fun  of  him.  One  of  them,  how 
ever,  looked  him  over  very  carefully  and  said:  "Boys, 
let  me  tell  you  something.  I  stood  close  enough  to  him 
to  see  his  eyes  and  the  set  of  his  jaw.  I'll  tell  you  what 
he  is,  he  is  the  Colonel  of  this  regiment." 

Soon  Grant  began  to  take  the  forts  on  the  Mississippi 
and  to  open  up  the  river  so  that  "The  Father  of  waters 
could  flow  un vexed  to  the  sea."  Then  men  began  to 
ask,  "Who  is  this  man  Grant  who  fights  battles  and 
wins  them?" 

He  laid  siege  to  Fort  Donelson.  His  old  West  Point 
comrade,  General  Simon  Buckner,  who  was  in  command, 
asked  for  terms  of  surrender.  "No  terms  except  uncon 
ditional  surrender;  I  propose  to  move  immediately  upon 


280 


THE  MAKERS  OF  AMERICA 


your  works, "  was  Grant's  reply.    The  Fort  surrendered. 

This  reply  electrified  the  Nation  and  after  that  he  was 

called  "Unconditional  Surrender  Grant." 

About  this  time 
some  men  began  to 
gossip  and  backbite. 
They  sent  complaints 
to  President  Lincoln 
about  Grant.  The 
President  dismissed 
the  complaints  by  say 
ing,  "I  can't  spare 
this  man;  he  fights." 
On  account  of 
Grant's  great  success 
es  in  the  West  he  was 
made  commander-in- 
chief  of  the  armies  of 
the  United  States. 
His  slogan  then  was 
"On  to  Richmond!" 
Grant's  presence  and 
his  vigorous  methods 

soon  put  the  army  of  the  Potomac  in  fine  spirits.    The 

soldiers  often  sang: 

Ulysses  leads  the  van. 

For  we  will  dare 

To  follow  where 
Ulysses  leads  the  van. 


GENERAL  ULYSSES  S.  GRANT 

He  is  sitting  before  his  tent  and  has 
been  studying  maps  and  military  plans. 
He  is  now,  apparently,  thinking  it  over. 


"THE  BLUE  AND   THE  GRAY"  281 

As  commander-in-chief  of  the  Union  Armies  Grant 
received  the  surrender  of  Lee  at  Appomattox  on  April  9, 
1865,  and  the  war  was  practically  over. 

A  few  years  later  he  was  elected  President  of  the 
United  States  and  held  that  office  for  two  terms. 

In  spite  of  his  great  war  record  Grant  was  a  man  of 
peace.  While  in  London  on  his  famous  trip  around  the 
world  he  remarked:  "I  have  never  felt  any  sort  of  fond 
ness  for  war,  and  I  have  never  advocated  it  except  as  a 
means  of  peace.  I  was  always  a  man  of  peace." 

When  he  delivered  his  first  inaugural  address  as  Presi 
dent  of  the  United  States  he  closed  with  these  significant 
words:  "Let  us  have  peace."  These  same  words  have 
since  been  fittingly  inscribed  upon  his  tomb  on  the  banks 
of  the  Hudson.  They  are  on  the  side  facing  the  south. 
This  is  significant,  for  he  never  bore  any  enmity  towards 
the  South  or  its  people. 

His  last  days  were  full  of  heroic  grandeur.  While  suf 
fering  from  a  fatal  disease  he  was  patient,  kind,  and 
gentle.  While  in  great  physical  pain  he  worked  diligently 
upon  his  book  so  that  he  might  leave  something  for  the 
support  of  his  wife  and  family.  While  in  this  condition 
his  old  classmate,  General  Simon  Buckner,  called  upon 
him  and  went  away  with  tears  in  his  eyes.  Did  they 
discuss  the  incidents  about  Fort  Donelson? 

The  end  came  at  Mt.  McGregor,  New  York  in  1885. 
In  the  funeral  procession,  which  took  place  a  few  days 
later,  General  Joseph  Johnston  and  General  Simon 
Buckner,  of  the  Confederate  army,  marched  side  by  side 


282  THE  MAKERS  OF  AMERICA 

with  General  William  T.  Sherman  and  General  Philip  H. 
Sheridan,  who  fought  on  the  other  side.  "Over  the  body 
of  Grant,  the  great  warrior  of  peace,  the  North  and  the 
South  clasped  hands  in  a  Union  never  again  to  be  broken." 

ROBERT  E.  LEE,  THE  IDOL  OF  THE  SOUTH 

He  was  thoroughly  unselfish;  he  was  swayed  only  by  that 
principle  which  he  had  been  taught  to  believe,  and  had  ever 
firmly  held,  that  his  allegiance  to  his  native  state  was  higher 
than  that  which  he  owed  to  the  Union. 

Robert  E.  Lee,  the  commander-in-chief  of  the  Con 
federate  armies,  was  born  in  Virginia  in  1807.  He  was 
two  years  older  than  Abraham  Lincoln  and  fifteen  years 
older  than  Ulysses  S.  Grant.  He  was  a  member  of  an 
old  and  illustrious  Virginia  family  and  grew  up  to  be  a 
fine  type  of  soldier  and  gentleman. 

Like  Grant,  Lee  was  a  West  Point  man.  He  was  an 
excellent  student  in  the  Academy  and  when  graduated 
he  stood  second  in  his  class.  At  a  later  time  he  was 
Superintendent  of  the  Academy  for  nearly  three  years. 

In  April,  1861,  Virginia  withdrew  from  the  Union. 
Lee,  believing  in  the  right  of  the  state  to  do  so,  con 
sidered  it  his  duty  to  cast  his  lot  with  his  native  state 
rather  than  with  the  Nation.  He,  therefore,  resigned  his 
commission  in  the  army  and  accepted  the  command  of 
the  Virginia  troops. 

When  he  took  command  of  these  forces  he  said: 
"Trusting  in  Almighty  God,  an  approving  conscience, 
and  the  aid  of  my  fellow-citizens,  I  devote  myself  to  the 


"THE  BLUE  AND   THE  GRAY 


283 


aid  of  my  native  state,  in  whose  behalf  alone  will  I  ever 
draw  my  sword." 

Lee  had  a  terrible  struggle  before  he  came  to  the  con 
clusion  that  his  first  duty  was  to  the  state  rather  than 


CONFEDERATE  CAMP  IN  VIRGINIA 

to  the  Nation.    About  the  time  that  he  made  this  deci 
sion  he  wrote  to  his  sister  as  follows: 

I  had  to  meet  the  question,  whether  I  should  take  part  [in 
the  war]  against  my  native  state.  With  all  my  devotion  to 
the  Union,  and  the  feeling  of  loyalty  and  duty  of  an  American 
citizen,  I  have  not  been  able  to  make  up  my  mind  to  raise  my 
hand  against  my  relatives,  my  children,  my  home. 


284 


THE  MAKERS  OF  AMERICA 


Lee's  decision  to  cast  his  lot  with  Virginia  greatly 
strengthened  the  Confederate  cause.  He  had  made  a 
good  record  in  the  army,  he  was  a  skillful  military  man, 
a  splendid  engineer,  and  a  gentleman  of  culture.  The 

whole  South  had  con 
fidence  in  his  ability 
as  an  officer  and  in 
his  integrity  as  a  man. 
His  people  never  had 
reason  to  change 
their  views  in  this 
respect. 

He    was    fifty-four 
years  of  age  when  the 
war  began   and   had 
been  married  since  he 
was     twenty-five     to 
Mary  Custis,  daugh 
ter  of  the  adopted  son 
of   George    Washing 
ton.      Through    this 
marriage  he  obtained 
possession  of  "Arling 
ton/7   a  beautiful   estate   opposite   Georgetown  on   the 
Virginia  side   of  the  Potomac  River.    This  estate  has 
since  been  intimately  connected  with  the  Lee  family. 
For  a  year  or  so  after  his  appointment  he  did  not  have 
a  very  important  place  in  the  Confederate  army.     He 
looked  after  the  fortifications  about  Richmond,  and  was 


GENERAL  ROBERT  E.  LEE,  COMMANDER- 
IN-CHIEF  or  THE  CONFEDERATE  FORCES 


" THE  BLUE  AND  THE  GRAY"         285 

military  adviser  to  the  President  of  the  Confederacy  and 
to  his  Secretary  of  War.  In  the  second  year  of  the  war 
he  took  an  active  command  and  was  later  placed  at  the 
head  of  all  the  Confederate  armies. 

On  the  gth  of  April,  1865,  as  we  have  already  seen,  he 
was  compelled  to  surrender  his  entire  army  to  General 
Grant,  from  whom  he  received  most  courteous  and  most 
generous  treatment. 

Immediately  after  the  close  of  the  war  he  was  elected 
President  of  Washington  College  (now  Washington  and 
Lee)  in  Lexington,  Virginia.  He  held  this  position  until 
his  death  in  1870.  During  the  latter  part  of  his  life  he 
lived  in  retirement  and  appeared  in  public  on  only  two 
occasions.  He  lies  buried  on  the  old  college  campus. 
After  his  death  his  eldest  son  took  his  place  as  President 
of  the  institution. 

He  was  indeed  "The  Idol  of  the  South"  and  the  pic 
ture  of  General  Lee,  sitting  upon  his  famous  horse 
"jTraveler,"  may  be  seen  in  thousands  of  homes  in  the 
South. 

GENERAL  GRANT'S  RIGHT-HAND  MEN 

While  General  Grant  accomplished  great  things  in  the 
war  he  did  not  do  his  work  alone.  On  the  contrary  he 
had  most  able  and  valiant  helpers.  One  of  these  was 

GENERAL  WILLIAM  TECUMSEH  SHERMAN 

Sherman,  like  Grant,  was  born  in  Ohio.  He  was  also 
a  West  Point  man.  When  the  war  came  on  he  was 


286  THE  MAKERS  OF  AMERICA 

Superintendent  of  a  Military  Academy  which  had  re 
cently  been  established  by  the  state  of  Louisiana.  He 
promptly  resigned  this  position  and  took  his  place  in 
the  Union  Army. 

Sherman  took  part  in  some  of  the  most  important 
battles  of  the  war  such  as  Bull  Run,  Shiloh,  and  Vicks- 
burg.  His  most  noted  achievement,  however,  was  his 
historic  march  "from  Atlanta  to  the  sea"  in  1864. 

Our  camp  fires  shone  bright  on  the  mountain 

That  frowned  on  the  river  below, 
As  we  stood  by  our  guns  in  the  morning, 

And  eagerly  watched  for  the  foe; 

When  a  rider  came  out  of  the  darkness 

That  hung  over  mountain  and  tree, 
And  shouted:   Boys,  up  and  be  ready! 

For  Sherman  will  march  to  the  sea! 

The  march  to  the  sea  was  a  bold  stroke.  It  was  car 
rying  the  war  into  the  very  heart  of  the  enemy's  country 
and  much  depended  upon  the  success  of  this  project. 
On  November  1 1  Sherman  cut  the  telegraph  wires  leading 
to  Washington  and  prepared  to  make  his  plunge.  Four 
days  later,  leaving  the  City  of  Atlanta  in  flames,  he  set 
out  for  the  sea  with  about  60,000  men. 

As  the  army  was  starting  out  from  Atlanta  one  of  the 
bands  struck  up  the  tune  of  "John  Brown's  soul  goes 
marching  on."  The  men  caught  up  the  strain  and 
sang  the  chorus  "Glory,  glory,  Hallelujah"  with  tre 
mendous  enthusiasm. 


"THE  BLUE  AND   THE  GRAY"  287 

For  thirty-nine  days  the  army  marched  through  Georgia, 
living  on  the  country  as  it  went,  and  spreading  des 
olation  on  every  hand.  The  people  of  the  state  were 
panic-stricken.  A  message 
from  the  Confederate  Capital 
read  as  follows: 

Remove  your  negroes,  horses, 
cattle,  and  provisions  from 
Sherman's  army  and  burn  what 
you  cannot  carry  away.  Burn 
all  bridges  and  block  up  the 
roads  on  his  route.  Assail  the 
invader  in  front,  flank,  and  rear, 
by  night  and  by  day.  Let  him 
have  no  rest. 


GENERAL  WILLIAM  T. 
SHERMAN 

General  Sherman  was  the  hero 
of  the  famous  march  from 
Atlanta  to  the  Sea. 


Sherman  pressed  on,  how 
ever,  and  on  December   24, 
1864,  he  took  possession  of 
the  City  of  Savannah.     On 
the  26th  he  sent  the  follow 
ing  message  to  President  Lincoln:    "I  beg  to  present  to 
you,  as  a  Christmas  gift,  the  City  of  Savannah,  with  1 50 
guns  and  plenty  of  ammunition,  and  also  about  25,000 
bales  of  cotton." 

Sherman  had  accomplished  his  bold  purpose.  The 
enemy's  country  was  cut  into  two  parts.  The  back 
bone  of  the  Confederacy  was  broken,  and  the  end  of  the 
war  was  in  sight. 


288 


THE  MAKERS  OF  AMERICA 


PHILIP  H.  SHERIDAN 

Another  man  who  did  much   to  win   the  war  was 

Philip  H.  Sheridan,  better  known  as  "Gallant  little  Phil." 

Sheridan  was  the  most  brilliant  cavalry  officer  of  the 


SHERIDAN'S  RIDE 
"Gallant  little  Phil"  is  rallying  his  men  for  the  victory. 

Civil  War.  His  most  noted  exploit  was  in  the  Shenan- 
doah  Valley  sometimes  called  the  "  storehouse  of  the 
South."  The  valley  was  also  "the  backdoor  to  Wash 
ington"  and  a  southern  army  was  threatening  the  na 
tional  capital  from  this  point.  Grant  ordered  Sheridan 


"THE  BLUE  AND   THE  GRAY"  289 

to  drive  out  the  Confederates  and  lay  waste  the  valley. 
He  was  "to  destroy  what  he  could  not  consume." 

Sheridan  did  his  work  most  thoroughly.  He  de 
stroyed  grain,  barns,  and  agricultural  tools.  Mills  were 
demolished  and  cattle  were  driven  off.  Nothing  was 
left.  It  was  said  "that  a  crow  flying  over  the  valley 
would  have  to  carry  his  own  rations." 

But  the  story  does  not  end  here.  Sheridan  was  fight 
ing  in  the  valley  against  General  Early,  a  very  lively 
sort  of  individual.  General  Early  suddenly  appeared 
from  nowhere  and  threw  his  men  with  great  force  against 
the  Union  troops  at  Cedar  Creek.  Sheridan  at  the  time 
was  at  Winchester,  "twenty  miles  away."  The  Union 
troops  retreated  in  confusion.  There  was  almost  a 
stampede.  Then  occurred  "Sheridan's  Ride,"  famous  in 
song  and  story.  The  little  General  got  word  of  what  was 
happening  and  turned  the  head  of  his  famous  black 
horse,  Rienzi,  toward  the  scene  of  the  battle. 

But  there  is  a  road  from  Winchester  town, 
A  good,  broad  highway  leading  down; 
And  there,  through  the  flush  of  the  morning  light, 
A  steed  as  black  as  the  steeds  of  night 
Was  seen  to  pass,  as  with  eagle  flight; 
As  if  he  knew  the  terrible  need, 
He  stretched  away  with  his  utmost  speed, 
Hills  rose  and  fell,  but  his  heart  was  gay, 
With  Sheridan  fifteen  miles  away. 

Under  his  spurning  feet,  the  road 
Like  an  arrowy  Alpine  river  flowed, 


2 go  THE  MAKERS  OF  AMERICA 

And  the  landscape  sped  away  behind 
Like  an  ocean  flying  before  the  wind; 
And  the  steed,  like  a  bark  fed  with  furnace  ire, 
Swept  on,  with  his  wild  eye  full  of  fire; 
But,  lo!    he  is  nearing  his  heart's  desire; 
He  is  snuffing  the  smoke  of  the  roaring  fray, 
With  Sheridan  only  five  miles  away. 

He  arrived  just  in  time  to  save  the  day.  "Come  on, 
boys,  we're  all  right,"  he  shouted  as  he  galloped  along 
the  line  waving  his  hat.  "  We'll  whip  them  yet  and 
sleep  in  our  old  quarters  tonight." 

Defeat  was  turned  into  victory  by  the  personality  of 
the  great  General  and  the  Confederate  raids  in  the 
Shenandoah  Valley  ceased  for  all  time. 


GENERAL  LEE'S  RIGHT-HAND  MEN 

While  the  Union  commanders  in  the  Civil  War  dis 
played  bravery  and  marked  military  skill  it  must  be 
remembered  that  the  Confederate  commanders  were  also 
brave  and  able  men. 

THOMAS  JONATHAN  JACKSON 

One  of  Lee's  right-hand  men  was  General  Thomas 
Jonathan  Jackson,  better  known  as  " Stonewall"  Jack 
son.  Jackson  was  a  Virginian  and  a  graduate  of  the 
West  Point  Military  Academy.  He  was  probably  the 
most  peculiar  commander  in  either  army.  He  was 
deeply  religious  and  had  the  Bible  in  his  tent  as  well  as 


THE  BLUE  AND  THE  GRAY" 


291 


his  sword.  When  the  men  heard  Jackson  praying  in  his 
tent  before  daybreak  they  knew  that  something  serious 
was  at  hand.  Jackson  was  always  terribly  in  earnest. 

He  first  came  into  prominence  in  the  Battle  of  Bull 
Run,  one  of  the  earliest  battles  of  the  war.  In  this 
famous  engagement  one  flank 
of  the  Southern  army  was 
giving  way  before  the  on 
slaughts  of  the  Union  troops. 
A  Confederate  commander, 
attempting  to  rally  his  men, 
exclaimed:  "There  stands 
Jackson  like  a  stone  wall." 
The  men  stopped  their  flight 
and  the  battle  was  finally 
won  by  the  army  of  the  South. 
The  name  "  Stone  wall"  stuck 
to  Jackson  ever  after. 

He  was  a  beloved  command- 
and  a  true  soldier.     He 


er 


THOMAS  JONATHAN  JACKSON 

11  Stone  wall"  Jackson  gave  up 
his  life  for  the  Confederate 
cause.  He  was  one  of  the 
right-hand  men  of  General 
Robert  E.  Lee. 


was  accidentally  shot  by  his 
own  men  in  the  Battle  of 
Chancellorsville  and  died  of 
pneumonia  a  few  days  later. 

Although  he  was  about  to  enter  the  Valley  of  the 
Shadow  of  Death,  his  military  duties  were  still  upon 
his  mind.  He  was  delirious  for  a  time  just  before  his 
death  but  his  active  mind  was  issuing  commands  to  his 
men.  He  gave  these  orders: 


2Q2 


THE  MAKERS  OF  AMERICA 


Order  A.  P.  Hill  to  prepare  for  battle. 

Tell  Major  Hawks  to  advance  the  commissary  train. 

Let  us  cross  the  river  and  rest  in  the  shade. 

When  General  Lee  heard  of  the  death  of  his  great 
commander  he  said  that  he  felt  as  though  his  right  hand 
had  been  taken  away. 

JAMES  E.  B.  STUART 

General  James  E.  B.  Stuart  was  a  dashing  figure  on 
southern  battle  fields  when  mounted  on  his  spirited  mare 

—   ' '  Skylark. ' '    He  always  wrote 

fhis  name  J.  E.  B.  Stuart  and 
his  men  lovingly  called  him 
"Jeb." 
Stuart  was  born  in  Virginia 
and  was  graduated  from  the 
West  Point    Military 
^ f?  Academy.      He    joined    the 

Confederate  army  at  the 
beginning  of  the  war  and 
served  almost  to  its  close. 
He  was  looked  upon  by  both 
sides  as  one  of  the  most  daring 
officers  in  the  service. 

He  was  a  bold  raider  — 
quick  to  strike  and  get  away.     He  harassed  the  Union 
army  at  many  points.     He  would  swoop  down  suddenly, 
burn  baggage  wagons,  take  prisoners,   and  carry  away 
mules  and  horses.     He  was  always  swift  and  alert. 


GENERAL  J.  E.  B.  STUART 

"Jeb"  Stuart,  as  he  was  called 
by  his  men,  was  one  of  the 
most  brilliant  cavalry  officers 
of  the  war. 


"THE  BLUE  AND   THE  GRAY"  293 

His  men  were  usually  few  in  number  but  they  were  all 
Virginians  who  rode  their  own  horses  and  knew  the 
country  in  which  they  were  scouting. 

Stuart  won  no  great  battles  but  he  was  an  intelligent 
man  who  rendered  a  useful  service.  He  was  a  sincere 
Christian  and  thoroughly  reliable  in  every  way.  General 
Johnston  once  said  "How  can  I  sleep  unless  he  is  on  the 
outpost?"  And  General  Lee  testified  "  He  never  brought 
me  a  false  report."  On  one  occasion  he  rode  entirely 
around  the  army  of  the  Potomac  in  order  to  get  infor 
mation  for  his  chief. 

Finally  in  a  battle  with  Sheridan's  men  in  1864,  near 
Richmond,  he  was  fatally  wounded  and  died  soon  after 
at  the  age  of  thirty-one.  His  death  was  looked  upon  as 
a  great  blow  to  the  Confederate  army  —  almost  as  great 
as  that  of  "  Stonewall  "  Jackson. 

THE  CLOSE  or  THE  WAR 

The  surrender  of  Lee  at  Appomattox  practically  ended 
the  war.  The  two  great  armies  which  had  fought  against 
each  other  for  four  years  were  now  disbanded  and  the 
men  went  quietly  to  their  homes  to  take  up  the  tasks  of 
peace.  The  union  of  the  states  was  restored  and  both 
North  and  South  have  since  labored  for  the  common  wel 
fare  of  a  united  nation.  In  1898  men  from  both  sections 
of  the  country  fought  shoulder  to  shoulder  in  the  Span 
ish-American  War,  and  at  a  later  time  they  joined  hands 
in  the  great  World  War  against  the  armies  of  the  Ger 
man  Government. 


294 


THE  MAKERS  OF  AMERICA 


"THE  BLUE  AND   THE  GRAY"  295 

At  the  present  time  there  are  very  few  survivors  of 
either  army.  The  ranks  of  the  Blue  and  the  Gray  have 
been  thinned  with  the  passing  years.  Most  of  these 
brave  men  have  answered  their  final  roll  call. 

By  the  flow  of  the  inland  river, 

Whence  the  fleets  of  iron  have  fled, 
Where  the  blades  of  the  grave-grass  quiver, 

Asleep  are  the  ranks  of  the  dead: 

Under  the  sod  and  the  dew, 

Waiting  the  judgment  day; 
Under  the  one,  the  Blue, 

Under  the  other,  the  Gray. 

No  more  shall  the  war  cry  sever, 

Or  the  winding  river  be  red; 
They  banish  our  anger  forever 

When  they  laurel  the  graves  of  our  deadl 

Under  the  sod  and  the  dew, 

Waiting  the  judgment  day; 
Love  and  tears  for  the  Blue, 

Tears  and  love  for  the  Gray. 

—  FRANCIS  MILES  FINCH 


HINTS  AND   QUESTIONS 

1.  Was  the   Civil  War  fought   to   preserve   the  Union   or  to 

abolish  slavery? 

2.  Why  was  Lincoln  called  "The  Great  Emancipator  "? 

3.  Lincoln's  addresses  are  written  in  almost  perfect  English 

How  do  you  think  he  learned  to  write  in  this  way? 


2g6  THE  MAKERS  OF  AMERICA 

4.  Find  out  what  you  can  about  Lincoln  City,  Indiana. 

5.  Why  did  Grant  seem  to  be  a  failure  before  the  Civil  War? 

6.  Why  was  Robert  E.  Lee  "  The  Idol  of  the  South  "? 

7.  In  what  ways    did  he   show  his  fine    spirit  after  the  war 

was  over? 

8.  Why  was  Sherman's  "  March  to  the  Sea  "  important? 

9.  Read  T.  B.  Read's  "  Sheridan's  Ride.  " 

10.  Kow  did  "  Stonewall"  Jackson  get  his  nickname? 

11.  Tell  the  story  of  General  "  Jeb  "  Stuart. 


PRONOUNCING  LIST 

Appomattox    ap-6-mat'uks  Ulysses    u-lis'ez 

Galena    ga-le'na  Shenandoah    shen-an-do'a 


CHAPTER  XVII 
GREAT  AMERICAN   INDUSTRIES 

WHEN  peace  came  the  great  industries  of  the  United 
States  began  to  flourish  as  never  before.  No  other  country 
in  the  world  has  ever  had  such  a  rapid  growth  in  agri 
culture  and  manufacturing  as  the  United  States  has  had 
since  the  Civil  War. 

AGRICULTURE,  LUMBERING,  AND  MINING 

The  area  of  the  United  States  is  very  large.  It  con 
tains  more  than  3,000,000  square  miles,  and  embraces 
within  its  boundaries  all  kinds  of  soils  and  every  variety 
of  climate.  It  has  light  sand,  heavy  clay,  and  black 
loam.  It  has  the  rigorous  climate  of  northern  Maine 
and  the  balmy  atmosphere  of  Florida  and  California. 

This  great  variety  of  soil  and  climate  makes  it  pos 
sible  for  the  United  States  to  produce  a  corresponding 
variety  of  agricultural  products.  The  Gulf  States  produce 
cotton  in  great  abundance.  Some  of  this  is  manufac 
tured  at  home,  but  a  large  part  of  it  is  sent  to  England 
and  other  foreign  countries.  A  wide  belt  across  the 
central  part  of  the  continent  is  largely  given  over  to 

corn  and  winter  wheat.     Wool  and  live  stock  are  pro- 

297 


298 


THE  MAKERS  OF  AMERICA 


duced  in  the  Rocky  Mountain  country  and  grain  and 
fruits  on  the  Pacific  Coast.  Dairying  and  mixed  farm 
ing  are  prominent  in  New  York  and  New  England. 
Spring  wheat  abounds  in  Minnesota  and  the  Dakotas. 
We  find  lumber  in  great  abundance  in  the  cotton 
states,  the  central  Northwest,  and  the  Pacific  North 
west;  and  Maine,  of 
course  is  the  old 
"Pine  tree  State." 

Iron  ore  is  found 
widely  scattered  over 
the  territory  of  the 
United  States  from 
Lake  Superior  on  the 
north  to  the  Gulf  of 
Mexico  on  the  south, 
and  from  Tennessee 
on  the  east  to  the 
Rocky  Mountains  on  the  west. 

The  great  coal  belt  of  the  United  States  stretches 
across  the  states  of  Pennsylvania,  West  Virginia,  Ohio, 
Kentucky,  Tennessee  Indiana,  and  Illinois.  It  would 
be  impossible  to  carry  on  our  great  manufacturing  in 
dustries  without  these  immense  coal  fields  —  to  say 
nothing  of  heating  our  homes  and  cooking  our  food. 

Large  veins  of  gold,  silver,  and  copper  are  found  in 
the  Rocky  Mountain  region  and  on  the  Pacific  Coast. 
Copper  in  large  quantities  has  been  discovered  in  the 
vicinity  of  the  Great  Lakes. 


A  COAL  MINER  AT  WORK 
He  is  undercutting  a  deposit  of  coal. 


GREAT  AMERICAN  INDUSTRIES 


299 


A  COTTON  MILL  IN  LAWRENCE,  MASSACHUSETTS 
This  huge  factory  contains  thousands  of  power-looms. 


A  CATTLE  ROUND-UP 

Horsemen  round  up  the  cattle  on  the  western  plains  now  and  then 
for  branding  and  for  sale. 


300  THE    MAKERS   OF  AMERICA 

Large  deposits  of  oil  have  been  found  in  many  places 
from  Pennsylvania  on  the  east  to  southern  California 
on  the  west.  In  recent  years  rich  oil  fields  have  been 
opened  up  in  Oklahoma  and  Texas. 

If  you  will  look  at  the  map  on  the  opposite  page  you 
will  notice  the  great  variety  and  the  importance  of 
the  products  coming  from  the  soil  of  the  United  States. 
The  area  of  the  country  is  also  so  vast  that  the  amounts 


THE  TRACTOR  AT  WORK 

The  tractor  is  taking  the  place  of  the  horse  on  many  farms.  Almost 
all  kinds  of  farm  work  can  now  be  done  in  this  way. 


of  these  products  are  astonishing.  The  reports  of  the 
United  States  census  give  some  very  interesting  figures 
in  this  respect. 

The  recent  advances  in  agriculture  in  this  country 
have  been  largely  due  to  better  and  more  scientific 
methods  of  farming  and  to  the  use  of  improved  farm 
machinery.  There  is  now  an  Agricultural  College  and 
an  Agricultural  Experiment  Station  in  every  state  of  the 
Union,  and  these  institutions  are  teaching  the  farmer 
how  to  fertilize  and  prepare  the  soil,  how  to  select  and 


302 


THE  MAKERS  OF  AMERICA 


plant  the  seed,  and  finally  how  to  care  for  and  harvest 
his  crop.  These  things  are  vastly  better  done  than  in 
our  fathers'  days. 

Agricultural  machinery  has  also  been  greatly  improved. 
It  was  a  marked  advance  from  the  crooked  stick  to 
the  gang  plow.  There  is  a  vast  difference  between 
the  sickle  and  the  modern  reaper  or  harvester.  How 
would  you  like  the  task  of  cutting  the  grain  on  one 
of  the  great  wheat  fields  of  the  Dakotas  by  means  of 
a  sickle? 

Improvements  are  still  being  made.  The  American 
is  a  very  ingenious  person.  In  1833  a  clerk  in  the  patent 
office  at  Washington  resigned  because  he  thought  that  all 

the  possible  inven 
tions  had  already  been 
made.  He  was  greatly 
mistaken.  The  era  of 
invention  was  only 
just  beginning  at  that 
time. 

THE  STEEL  MILLS 

Great  advances 
have  also  been  made 
in  manufacturing. 
Nowhere  is  this  more 

evident  than  in  the  steel  industry.  One  of  the  old 
Emperors  said  that -he  found  Rome  a  city  of  brick  and 
left  it  a  city  of  marble.  Our  forefathers  found  the  United 


CLEVELAND  STEEL  MILLS 

Iron  ore  is  brought  in  boats  from 
Minnesota  and  Michigan  and  made 
into  steel  in  these  giant  mills. 


GREAT  AMERICAN  INDUSTRIES  303 

States  a  country  of  wood  and  made  it  a  land  of  brick, 
cement,  and  steel. 

Steel  is  the  most  important  item  in  modern  building. 
It  is  found  in  skyscrapers,  battleships,  railways,  and 
bridges,  to  say  nothing  of  machines,  tools,  and  imple 
ments.  The  American  industrial  world  could  not  exist 
in  its  present  form  without  the  use  of  steel. 

The  development  of  the  steel  industry  has  been  rather 
recent.  Such  men  as  Andrew  Carnegie,  Henry  C.  Frick, 
and  Charles  M.  Schwab  had  a  large  part  in  this  devel 
opment.  A  visit  to  Gary,  Indiana,  to  Pittsburgh  or  Beth 
lehem,  Pennsylvania,  will  readily  convince  you  of  the 
magnitude  and  importance  of  the  steel  industry  in  the 
United  States. 

Now  what  shall  we  say  in  regard  to  the  future  indus 
trial  development  of  our  country?  Is  it  not  likely  that 
the  next  fifty  years  will  show  a  still  more  astonishing 
advance  in  this  respect  than  the  last  fifty  years?  Ameri 
ca's  to-morrow  is  likely  to  be  a  very  interesting  period. 

We  have  reviewed  in  this  little  book  the  life  stories  of 
some  of  the  greatest  men  produced  by  the  United  States. 
These  men  were,  in  a  very  true  sense,  The  Makers  of 
America.  They  founded  the  Republic,  fought  its  battles, 
and  carried  on  its  government.  They  explored  the 
wilderness,  built  railroads,  and  invented  labor-saving 
machinery.  They  gave  their  best  services  unselfishly  to 
you  and  to  me. 


304  THE  MAKERS  OF  AMERICA 

These  men  accomplished  great  things,,  partly  because 
they  were  men  of  ability.  This,  however,  does  not 
account  for  it  all.  They  could  stick  to  their  task  until  it 
was  completed.  The  poet  Longfellow  was  right  when  he 
said: 

The  heights  by  great  men  reached  and  kept 

Were  not  attained  by  sudden  flight, 
But  they,  while  their  companions  slept, 

Were  toiling  upward  in  the  night. 

HINTS  AND  QUESTIONS 

1.  Why  does  the  United  States  produce  such  a  large  variety 

of  agricultural  products? 

2.  What  are  the  principal  products  of  your  state? 

3.  What  is  the  United  States  Patent  Office? 

4.  Go   through   a  manufacturing   establishment   whenever   you 

can.     Study  the  operations. 


HINTS   TO  TEACHERS 

"IF  the  pupil  in  the  fourth  and  fifth  grades  comes  into  vital  touch  with 
great  leaders,  by  living  over  again  their  lives  and  fortunes,  he  will  find  History 
a  study  of  absorbing  interest  and  of  untold  value  as  an  aid  to  the  understanding 
of  life  ..." 

Report  of  Committee  of  American  School  Citizenship  League. 

IN  order  to  obtain  this  " absorbing  interest"  and  "untold 
value"  the  best  efforts  of  the  authors  and  the  teacher  are  essen 
tial.  And  in  history  teaching,  especially  in  the  earlier  grades, 
the  teacher  is  a  more  important  factor  than  the  text-book.  Much 
of  the  success  of  the  class-room  work  will  depend  upon  the  teacher's 
ability  to  vitalize  the  material  presented  in  the  book.  An  at 
tempt  should  be  made  to  stimulate  the  imagination  of  the  child 
so  as  to  cause  him  to  live  over  again  the  scenes  depicted  on  the 
printed  page.  He  should  be  led  as  close  as  possible  to  the  char 
acters  and  scenes  of  the  period.  The  Makers  of  America  should 
be  living  and  moving  men  rather  than  statues  on  pedestals  or 
steel  engravings  hanging  on  the  wall.  In  order  to  bring  this 
about,  picture,  poem,  and  story  should  be  utilized.  Oral  presen 
tation  should  not  be  neglected.  The  voice  and  the  personality 
of  the  teacher  carry  an  appeal  to  the  child  which  no  cold  type 
can  equal. 

Geography,  also,  should  be  called  upon .  The  boy  cannot  march 
in  imagination  with  Lewis  and  Clark  unless  he  knows  the  route 
and  the  contour  of  the  country  traversed.  "History  without 
geography  is  all  in  the  air." 

THE  INTRODUCTION 

If  the  class  has  done  biographical  work  in  the  fourth  grade 
the  Introduction  will  constitute  a  review  of  some  of  the  out 
standing  events  in  the  earlier  period  of  American  History.  If 
no  such  work  has  been  done,  it  will  be  well  for  the  teacher  to 

305 


306  HINTS   TO   TEACHERS 

read  the  Introduction  to  the  class  with  such  explanations  as  may 
seem  necessary. 

A  collection  of  pictures  illustrating  the  scenes  referred  to  will 
add  much  to  the  vividness  of  the  text. 

CHAPTER  I 

Have  the  pupils  memorize  appropriate  quotations  from  Sidney 
Lanier's  America  and  Frank  L.  Stockton's  One  Country. 

CHAPTER  II 

Ask  the  pupils  to  imagine  themselves  present  at  the  meeting  in 
the  old  church  at  Richmond.  Have  them  describe  the  scene  in 
a  paragraph  or  two. 

CHAPTER  III 

Have  the  pupils  draw  a  map  of  Massachusetts  and  locate  upon 
it  the  various  places  mentioned  in  the  chapter. 

CHAPTER  IV 

Ask  the  class  to  read  Joseph  Hopkinson's  Hail  Columbia  and 
commit  to  memory  the  third  stanza.  (It  would  be  well  to  have 
in  the  school  library  a  copy  of  Poems  of  American  History,  edited 
by  Burton  E.  Stevenson). 

CHAPTER  V 

Before  leaving  this  chapter  it  would  be  well  (i)  to  sum  up  the 
causes  of  the  American  Revolution  and  (2)  to  review  the  geog 
raphy  of  the  campaigns. 

CHAPTER  VI 

An  interesting  game  could  be  devised  by  having  members  of 
the  class  impersonate  the  characters  mentioned  in  the  chapter 
and  tell  something  about  themselves.  The  remaining  members 
would  then  guess  their  identity.  In  order  to  make  the  game 
somewhat  more  difficult  and  instructive  additional  information 
should  be  procured  from  other  books. 


HINTS    TO   TEACHERS  307 

CHAPTER  VII 

Ask  the  pupils  to  write  an  imaginary  account  of  some  expedi 
tion  or  sea  fight  of  John  Paul  Jones,  as  Jones  himself  might  have 
written  it  in  his  diary. 

CHAPTER  VIII 

Ask  the  pupils  to  imagine  themselves  members  of  the  Boone 
family  and  to  write  two  or  three  paragraphs  about  their  home, 
food,  dress  and  games. 

CHAPTER  IX 

Have  the  pupils  study  a  map  of  the  United  States  and  indicate 
the  places  connected  with  the  career  of  George  Rogers  Clark. 

CHAPTER  X 

Have  the  class  make  a  collection  of  pictures  relating  to  the 
City  of  Washington  as  it  is  today. 

CHAPTER  XI 
Read  Chamberlain's  How  we  are  Clothed. 

CHAPTER  XII 

(a)  Ask  the  class  to  make  a  list  of  the  states  carved  out  of  the 
Louisiana  Purchase. 

(b)  Ask  them  to  make  a  list  of  the  places  one  would  pass  through 
in  going  over  the  route  of  Lewis  and  Clark. 

CHAPTER  XIII 

(a)  Have  the  pupils  make  a  collection  of  pictures  of  steam 
boats  from  Fulton's  time  to  the  present. 

(b)  Have  them  make  a  miniature  Erie  Canal  on  the  sand  table 
showing  locks  and  terminals. 

CHAPTER  XIV 

Use  the  characters  mentioned  in  the  chapter  as  the  basis  of  a 
game  similar  to  that  suggested  for  Chapter  VI. 


30$  HINTS   TO   TEACHERS 

CHAPTER  XV 

Read  a  few  extracts  fram  the  speeches  of  Webster,  Clay,  or 
Calhoun  and  explain  their  meaning  to  the  class. 

CHAPTER  XVI 

(a)  Read  to  the  class  some  of  the  stories  relating  to  the  boy 
hood  of  Abraham  Lincoln. 

(b)  Have  the  pupils  make  a  collection  of  pictures  illustrating 
the  birthplace,  boyhood,  family  life,  and  various  homes  of  Abra 
ham  Lincoln. 

(c)  Explain  and  sum  up  the  causes  and  results  of  the  Civil  War. 

CHAPTER  XVII 

Ask  each  member  of  the  class  to  go  through  a  factory,  if  pos 
sible,  and  write  a  short  account  of  what  he  saw. 


SUMMARY 

At  the  end  of  the  term  it  will  be  well  to  have  a  general  review 
and  summing  up.  Do  not  leave  things  at  loose  ends.  Try  to 
have  the  class  look  upon  the  whole  period  as  one  of  great  devel 
opment.  The  following  phases  should  be  emphasized:  — 

(a)  Territorial  Expansion 

(b)  Growth  of  Population 

(c)  Development  of  Agriculture 

(d)  Development  of  Manufacturing 

(e)  Development  of  Transportation  Facilities 
(/)  Development  of  Education  and  Culture 
(g)  Progress  in  Free  Government 

(h)   THE  INFLUENCE  OF  THE  MAKERS  OF  AMERICA 
IN   ALL   OF   THIS  DEVELOPMENT. 


INDEX 


Adams,  John  hears  James  Otis,  16;  quotes 
Patrick  Henry,  26;  Vice  President,  172, 

177- 

Adams,  Samuel,  33;  early  life,  34;  organizer  of 
Revolution,  34;  portrait,  35;  attends 
Continental  Congress,  36;  protests 
against  Stamp  Act,  37;  before  Governor 
Hutchinson,  39;  quoted  on  liberty,  40; 
British  attempt  to  capture,  40;  home 
life,  42. 

Agricultural  machinery,  302. 

Agricultural  products,  297. 

Alamo,  the,  232,  238. 

Allen,  Ethan,  60. 

Andre,  John,  90. 

Appomattox,  281. 

Arnold,  Benedict,  78,  80,  81,  90,  98,  99. 

Blue  and  the  Grey,  262. 

Bon  Homme  Richard,  116. 

Boone,  Daniel,  118;  boyhood,  120;  education, 
120;  as  a  hunter,  120;  as  a  nature-lover, 
121 ;  as  Jack  of  All  Trades,  121;  in  North 
Carolina,  121;  map  of  Boone's  travels, 
122;  Yadkin  River,  122;  marries  Re 
becca  Bryan,  123;  in  Tennessee,  125;  in 
Florida,  125;  to  Kentucky,  125;  Boone 
fighting  Indians,  126;  captured  by  In 
dians,  127;  escapes  from  Indians,  128; 
death  of  James  Boone,  131;  Boone's 
powder  horn,  140;  adopted  by  Indians, 
141;  Boone's  thrilling  escape,  141; 
Boone's  gun,  142;  in  West  Virginia  and 
Missouri,  145;  Boone's  cabin  in  Mis 
souri,  145;  in  the  legislature  of  Virginia, 
146;  leader  in  the  frontier  settlements, 
146. 

Boonesboro,  130;  life  in,  135;  threatened  by 
Indians,  140;  attacked,  144. 

Boston  Massacre,  58. 

Boston  Tea  Party,  57,  59. 

Braddock,  5, 123. 

Buckner,  General  Simon,  279. 

Buena  Vista,  battle  of,  236. 

Bunker  Hill,  battle  of,  61,  64. 

Burgoyne,  General,  77,  78,  79,  80. 

Burgoyne's  surrender,  81. 

Burke,  Edmund,  56. 


Cabot,  John,  4. 

Calhoun,  John  C.,  258,  262. 

Canal  boat,  219. 

Capital  City,  174. 

Capitol  building,  179. 

Carson,  Kit,  240. 

Cattle  round-up,  299. 

City  of  Washington,  175. 

Civil  War,  275. 

Civil  War,  close  of,  293. 

Clark,  George  Rogers,  150;  plans  attack  on 
British,  155,  156;  Kaskaskia,  expedition 
against,  157,  159;  Gibault,  Father,  160; 
Fort  Clark,  161;  Hamilton,  British  gen 
eral  at  Detroit,  162;  Vincennes,  162, 
163;  last  years,  166. 

Clay,  Henry,  234,  254. 

Clermont,  214. 

Climate  of  U.S.,  297. 

Clinton,  General,  78,  79. 

Clinton,  Governor  De  Witt,  216. 

Coal,  300. 

Coal  miner  at  work,  300. 

Colonies,  thirteen,  10;  England  taxes  them. 
10;  smuggle  goods,  14. 

Colonists,  English,  6. 

Colonists'  houses  searched,  14. 

Columbus,  Christopher,  4. 

Concord  Bridge,  59. 

Confederate  camp  in  Virginia,  283. 

Confederate  States  of  America,  273. 

Constitution  of  the  U.S.,  Webster  defends,  253. 

Constitutional  convention,  84. 

Cooper,  Peter,  222. 

Cornwallis,  71,  92,  93,  103. 

Cornwallis'  surrender,  83. 

Cotton  gin,  182-187. 

Cotton  mill,  299. 

Cotton-picking,  184. 

Cowpens,  battle  of,  92,  100. 

Crockett,  David,  237. 

Cumberland  Gap,  129,  130. 

Dairying,  300. 

Dark  and  Bloody  ground,  138,  145. 
Davis,  Jefferson,  273. 

Declaration  of  Independence:  Liberty  Bell, 
ready  to  ring,  2;  Jefferson  reading,  4. 


300 


INDEX 


signed  by  Adams,  40;  Franklin  discuss 
ing,  49;  Jefferson  writes,  49;  signing,  65; 
passage,  66. 

District  of  Columbia,  176. 

Dutch  in  New  Amsterdam,  6. 

Emigrants  going  West,  243. 
England,  hostility  grows  toward,  6. 
Erie  Canal,  215. 

Findley,  John,  123,  125. 

First  Continental  Congresses  ;  passes  Declara 
tion  of  Independence,  66;  chooses  Wash 
ington  as  commander,  67. 

Fort  Donelson,  279. 

Franklin,  Benjamin:  reading  Poor  Richard's 
Almanac,  4;  quoted  on  native  rights,  6; 
mentioned,  38;  early  life,  45;  "Balance 
Wheel  of  Revolution,"  46;  book  shop,  47; 
in  England,  48;  Stamp  Act,  discusses, 
49J  Declaration,  discusses,  49;  portrait, 
51;  to  France  for  aid  in  war,  52;  helps 
make  Constitution,  52. 

Freeman's  farm,  battle  of,  79. 

Freeman's  farm,  second  battle  of,  80. 

Fremont,  John  C.,  238. 

French  and  Indians,  5. 

French  and  Indian  war,  map,  55. 

French  and  Indian  War,  122. 

French  in  the  New  World,  6. 

Fulton,  Robert,  212. 

Gage,  General,  39,  41. 

Gates,  General,  77,  79,  80,  81 

George  III,  10,  23,  67,  83. 

Gibault,  Father,  160. 

Gold  discovered  in  California,  242. 

Golden  Southwest,  230. 

Grant,  portrait,  280. 

Grant,  Ulysses  S.,  275. 

Greene  in  the  South,  91. 

Greene,  Nathanael,  76,  88-96. 

Guilford  Court  House,  battle  of,  93. 

Hale,  Nathan,  108-111. 

Hamilton,  Alexander,  75,  76,  83. 

Hancock  discusses  the  Stamp  Act,  37;  British 
try  to  capture,  40. 

Hanging  Rock,  battle  of,  108. 

Harrod,  James,  132. 

Harrodsboro,  132. 

Hayne,  Robert  Y.,  252. 

Henderson,  Richard,  133. 

Henry,  Patrick,  4;  early  life,  18;  indolence 
19;  moral  education,  20;  marriage,  20 
keeps  a  hotel,  20;  in  a  country  store,  20 
21;  as  a  farmer,  21 ;  social  life,  21;  read 
ing,  21 ;  lawyer,  22;  Parson's  cause,  22 
oratorical  powers  discovered,  22;  in  house 


of  Burgesses,  22;  U.S.  taxation,  23;  ad 
dresses  Virginia  Assembly,  23;  law  prac 
tice,  24;  attends  First  Continental  Con 
gress,  25;  speech  in  Richmond,  27;  urges 
war,  27;  Governor  of  Virginia,  29;  later 
life,  29;  Red  Hill,  30;  helps  Clark,  153. 

Highway,  waterway  and  railway,  211. 

Horses,  Washington's,  173. 

Houston,  Sam,  of  Texas,  230. 

Howe,  General,  61,  68,  77,  78,  79. 

Indians,  6,  124,  126,  128,  131,  135,  141,  i44. 
Industries,  great  American,  297. 
Iron  ore,  300. 

Jackson,  Andrew,  108,  207-210. 

Jackson  (Stonewall),  Thomas  Jonathan,  290; 

portrait,  291. 
Jamestown,  Virginia,  9. 
Jefferson,  Thomas,  189;   portrait,  191. 
Jefferson  writes  Declaration,  49. 
Jones,  John  Paul,  113. 
Junipero  Serra,  246. 

Kenton,  Simon,  138,  152,  160. 
Kentucky  and  Tennessee  purchased,  134. 
Kentucky,  first  glimpse  of,  126. 
Kitchen  of  Jonas  Clarke  House,  41. 
Knox,  Henry,  77. 

Lafayette,  75,  83. 

Lee,  Robert  E.,  275,  282;   portrait,  284. 

Lee's  surrender,  294. 

Lexington,  battle  of,  41,  59. 

Lewis  and  Clark,  203. 

Liberty  Bell,  i,  66. 

Liberty  poles,  56. 

Lincoln,  Abraham,  263;  his  grandfather,  263; 
his  father,  263;  his  boyhood,  264;  the 
rail-splitter,  266;  the  postmaster,  267; 
studies  law,  268;  portrait,  269;  elected 
President,  270;  inaugural  address  quoted, 
270;  inaugural  address,  second,  270; 
Gettysburg  speech,  272;  freeing  the 
.  slaves,  272;  Lincoln  Memorial,  273; 
Lincoln  quoted,  280. 

Livingston,  Robert  R.,  199. 

Log  cabin,  wilderness,  2. 

Lone  Star  Republic,  234. 

Long  Island,  battle  of,  68. 

Louisiana  Purchase,  195,  202. 

Louisiana  Territory,  early  history  of,  197. 

Lumber,  300. 

Magellan,  Ferdinand,  4. 

Maps:  French  and  Indian  War,  55;  beginning 
Revolution,  63;  Erie  Canal,  216;  Revolu 
tion  in  the  South,  92;  Revolution,  latter 


INDEX 


part,   80;    showing  acquisition   of   U.S. 

territory,  196;    showing  industries,  298; 

showing     travels    of    Boone    and     Clark, 

122;    showing  Western  exploration,  204. 
Marion,  Francis,  100-107. 
Meeting  House,  New  England,  i;  illustrated,  2. 
Mexican  War,  235. 
Mexico  and  treaty  of  peace,  237. 
Missionary,  Spanish,  246. 
Mississippi  River,  Jefferson  wants  land  near, 

198. 

Monroe,  James,  200. 
Monticello,  194. 

Morgan,  Daniel,  77,  92,  96-101. 
Morse,  S.  F.  B.,  and  the  electric  telegraph,  224. 
Mt.  Vernon,  84. 

Napoleon,  200. 
Naval  warfare,  116. 
Navy,  U.S.,  113. 
Nelson's  Ferry,  103,  105. 
New  Amsterdam,  5. 

Oil,  301. 

Otis,  James:  portrait,  9;  early  life,  12;  op 
poses  King,  14;  principles  of  conduct,  14; 
before  the  judges,  15;  struck  by  sword, 
16;  flame  of  fire,  16;  mentioned,  38. 

Parson's  cause,  22. 
Philip,  King,  5. 
Pike,  Zebulon,  207. 
Pitt,  William,  56. 
Planter,  Southern,  2. 
Pocahontas,  5. 
Polk,  James  K.,  234. 
Princeton,  battle  of,  71,  72. 
Putnam,  Israel,  62. 

Quebec,  fall  of,  5. 

Railroad,  first  American,  220. 

Revere,  Paul,  4,  41,  59. 

Revolution,  American,  8,  141,  155,  160. 

Revolution,  beginnings,  map,  63. 

Revolution,  end  of,  83. 

Revolution,  latter  part,  map,  80. 

Revolutionary  heroes,  88. 

Revolutionary  War  in  the  South,  map,  91. 

Rolfe,  John,  5. 

Salt  Licks,  134,  139. 
San  Francisco,  244. 
San  Jacinto,  battle  of,  233. 
Santa  Anna,  233. 
Saratoga,  battle  of,  78. 
Saratoga,  surrender  at,  82. 
Schuyler,  General,  77,  79. 


Scott,  General,  enters  Mexico  City,  236. 

Self-government,  8. 

Serapis  captured  by  John  Paul  Jones,  116. 

Serra,  Junipero,  246. 

Sheridan,  Philip  H.,  288. 

Sheridan's  ride,  289. 

Sherman,  William  T.,  285. 

Sherman's  march  to  the  sea.  286. 

Slavery,  262. 

Smith,  John,  5. 

Southern  States,  262. 

"Spirit  of  '76,"  67. 

Stage  coach,  217. 

Stamp  Act,  48;   stamp  collector  mobbed,  n: 

Patrick  Henry,  22;  Adams,  37;  Hancock, 

37;   reading  Stamp  Act,  38. 
Standish,  Miles,  5. 
States  rights,  258. 
Steam  boat,  Fulton  invents,  213. 
Steel,  303. 
Steel  mills,  302. 
Stewart,  John,  127,  129. 
Stuart,  J.  E.  B.,  General,  292. 
Stuyvesant,  Peter,  5. 
Sumter,  Thomas,  107. 
Sutter,  Captain  John,  242. 
Sycamore  Shoals,  treaty  of,  133. 

Tarleton,  General,  100,  105,  106. 

Taxation  without  Representation,  38. 

Taxes,  56. 

Taxes,  "Too  Much,"  12. 

Taylor,  General,  "Old-Rough-and-Ready,"  236. 

Telegraph,  Morse  invents,  224. 

Texas,  Annexation  of,  234. 

Texas,  early  days  in,  231. 

Ticonderoga,  59. 

Tobacco  loading,  2;   illustrated,  3. 

Tom  Thumb,  222. 

Tractor  at  work,  201. 

Train,  electric,  223. 

Travelling  by  highway,  211. 

Trenton,  battle  of,  70. 

University  of  Virginia,  193. 
U.S.    Map   showing   acquisition  of  territory, 
196. 

Valley  Forge,  72,  73,  74- 

War  of  1812,  251,  256. 

Warren,  Joseph,  64. 

Washington,  George:  surveying,  4,  54;  Brad- 
dock,  5,  59;  early  life,  54;  "Pillar  of  the 
Republic,"  56;  covers  retreat,  68;  crossing 
the  Delaware,  69;  Washington  and  La 
fayette,  82;  made  President  of  Constitu- 


312  INDEX 

tional  Convention,  84;   as  a  boy,  85;   as  White  House,  177,  178. 

a  man,  86;    as  President,  169;    adopting  Whitney,  Eli,  181. 

new  constitution,  169;  First  Cabinet,  170;  Wilderness  Road,  134. 

Inauguration,  170;    portrait,  171;    passes  Wolfe,  General,  5. 

through  Trenton,  172. 

Water  travel,  212.  Yorktown,  94. 

Webster,  Daniel,  250,  262.  Yorktown,  battle  of,  82. 


30328 


£176 


tit 


